Soumya's time to be practice perfect

Opener Soumya Sarkar will be desperate to get back among the runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium during a practice match between BCB Red and BCB Green tomorrow.

It will basically be a 50-over match, where the players will practice in a match scenario ahead of the tri-series involving Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. However, the selectors will still keep an eye on a few players, including Soumya.

The mercurial left-hander, who many believe received preferential treatment from former coach Chandika Hathurusingha, scored 0, 28, 3, 3, 0 and 8 in his last six ODI matches after making an unbeaten 87 against Ireland in Dublin in May 2017.

"Yes, Soumya's form is a cause for concern for us and we would love to see him make some runs in the practice match," said chief selector Minhajul Abedin yesterday.  However rather than his scores, the selectors are more concerned with the way the batsman has batted recently.

Minhajul added that they had not yet decided on the team as the final ODI squad for the tri-series will be announced on January 12 after the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), which begins on January 9.

"We will keep our eyes on a few players but we are yet to decide anything. We want to make the decisions as per the strategy of the team management. We also have to consider the weather conditions because they will all be day-night matches so dew will be a big factor," he added.

The tri-series will kick off on January 15 with a match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe at Mirpur.

However, the national team players will get the chance for some match practice in the four-day BCL although Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim are unlikely to feature in the league.

BCB RED: Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Sabbir Rahman, Sunzamul Islam, Ariful Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Hider, Rubel Hossain and Abul Hasan.

BCB GREEN: Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarker, Liton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Nazmul Hossain, Nasir Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Mohammad Saifuddin, Abu Jayed, Mustafizur Rahman and Nazmul Islam.