Bangladesh batsman Soumya Sarkar is an ardent admirer of Sourav Ganguly and like the former Indian skipper, he is also a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pacer.
In a recent revelation, he stated that he adopted this style after receiving advice from his brother Pushpen Sarkar. The 27-year-old cricketer is one of Bangladesh’s talented top-order batsman across all formats.
As a young child, Soumya was a fan of Ganguly’s cover drives and the lofted shots he played over the spinners’ heads. During his career, Ganguly was a nightmare for a left-arm spinner as he would simply dance down to the pitch of the ball with remarkable grace and send the ball rows back into the stands with ease.
“My life’s first cricket hero was Sourav Ganguly. I was a fan of him even before I understood cricket fully. One day my brother said, ‘You will be a left-handed batsman like Ganguly and bowl right-arm medium pace’. I’m not a natural left-hander, I started it after my brother’s advice. Except batting, I do all my work with the right-hand,” Sarkar was quoted as saying in bdnews24.
“I used to watch Sourav play on TV along with my brother. That time, an India-Pakistan game had a separate fanbase. While growing up, I became a fan of his cover-drive. And hitting the spinners by stepping out was incredible,” he added.
Soumya did manage to meet Ganguly during an Under-17 tour to Kolkata but the youngster just could not muster enough courage to go and talk to his hero but rather watched him in awe.
Sarkar also became a fan of Yuvraj Singh. He lauded him for his fearless style of play and for being a selfless cricketer.
“After growing up, Yuvraj Singh became my favourite cricketer. I loved his aggressive style of batting from the word go. He used to change the course of the game pretty quickly. He didn’t spare anyone and was fearless. Even I wish to play like him,” Sarkar said in the same interview.
“When I met Yuvraj, he asked me to have self-belief. He told me that I have the potential to turn the course of any match. He also advised me to not lose faith no matter how bad the situation is,” Soumya added.