‘Soumya, Afif should be scoring tons’

Bangladesh are slated to play New Zealand at home right after the ongoing World Cup but despite some of the national prospects managed to get some runs in the ongoing National Cricket League (NCL), more is expected.

All four first-round NCL matches yielded results with Dhaka Metro and Chattogram Division claiming wins over Sylhet Division and Barishal Division, respectively, on Day 4 yesterday.

Afif struck a 50-ball 63 in the first innings while Soumya Sarkar and Anamul Haque got fifties in the second innings for Khulna Division during their massive 400-run win over hosts Rajshahi on Saturday. Khulna's Mohammad Mithun got runs in both the innnigs, following up a fifty with a ton in the final innings.

However, national selector Habibul Bashar was still not satisfied with the contributions of some of the national prospects like Afif and Soumya.

"Actually, they need to score big. Scoring a fluent 50-60 runs doesn't help, although the approach is fine. You can score at 100 to 120 strike-rate or even 50 but fifty or 60-run knocks aren't helping. The likes of Soumya and Afif should be scoring tons because if they can't score hundreds here, how would they do that in Tests?" Bashar told The Daily Star yesterday.

These two players in particular have been in and out of the national team. While the Duke ball used in the NCL swings around more and provides a tougher challenge to the batters, the selectors believe that big runs in the NCL can prepare one for a better showing in the international circuit.

"The message [to score big runs] is already there and actually they don't have to be given because they are mature enough. When you are not in the team, you need to score," Bashar asserted.

Given how Bangladesh have been struggling for consistency in their batting, it is no surprise that the national team selector demanded more from the batters in the domestic circuit.

On the bowling front, however, things looked a bit better. Bashar, who attended the game in Sylhet where Dhaka Metro won, saw Rezaur Rahman Raja's return to action with a four-fer following his injury.

"Raja actually bowled very well but Khaled [Ahmed] seemed a bit flat. Raja looks fit and one good aspect is that he bowled well with the older ball, which I feel is one of his main strengths. He was bowling fast which was what we wanted to see. Overall the bowling was ok," he said.