'I used to be a right-handed batsman'

"I used to be called Soumya Shanto Sarkar. But my middle name was dropped later on," Bangladesh's newest batting sensation revealed with a mischievous smile. While it wasn't clear what the motive behind that move was, years on, one can definitely say that the word Shanto does not depict the elegant stroke-maker's demeanor on the field. These were the first words that the left-hander uttered before a nearly 25-minute long interview with The Daily Star's Bishwajit Roy at the poolside of the Sonargaon Hotel yesterday, right after cyclone Komen decided to intervene the second day's play of the second Test. On the field, the 22-year-old is perhaps the cheekiest of the lot. He 'periscopes' bouncers bowled at 140kph and tends to break into odd smiles during the most pressure-filled situations. That the cheekiness is inherent in his nature is something that our reporter learnt during Bangladesh's World Cup tour. "You know what? That's a serious injury. Doctors might just have to cut off your knee!" a deadpan Soumya had told our reporter while the latter was busy nursing his injured knee back in Australia. A keen believer of possessing a unique style, the man from Satkhira doesn't like to follow anybody's batting approach in particular. From his homesickness, his favourite addas and life after success to his immense appreciation for batting greats Brian Lara and Sourav Ganguly – because of whom he changed his batting approach and became a left-handed batsman instead of  using his natural right hand -- Soumya vividly provided his insight. A young man with a long sight, Soumya sounded confident while speaking on the target Mashrafe Bin Mortaza had set for him: reaching the 10,000-run mark. He has his own dreams as well, an aspect he wasn't too keen on revealing. Suffering from a cold, Soumya stuttered a bit while speaking, but that by no means dented the brilliant ambience that he had created for the interview. The following are excerpts from the interview in Soumya's words:

There have been some changes in my life since I started playing for the Bangladesh national team. People show more interest towards me, they want to talk to me. I feel that more when I'm in my hometown. Some people even come at five in the morning just to meet me. So far, I'm enjoying it, but meeting people at dawn is really difficult.

I actually never faced any difficulties in my cricketing journey, especially from my family. Generally in middle-class families there are concerns when a child wants to become a sportsman. There is a lot of competition and no guarantees, but my family never thought like that.

They always encouraged me and even now they make sure that I stay grounded and don't let the success go to my head. They are happy now, but they always push me to improve my performances and go even further.

Interestingly, I was not that keen on cricket in the beginning for only one reason: homesickness. When I was admitted to the BKSP, I felt uneasy being away from my family. So, just to avoid leaving my city or going to the BKSP -- basically being away from my family -- I tried to avoid playing cricket. I'm still homesick. Even if I get one day's vacation, I go back home.

There are two things, besides cricket, which I enjoy; spending time with my family and hanging out with a very close-knit group of friends. There is nothing which I find more relaxing than addas.

However, I want to share an interesting fact. Since the World Cup, I have not been as homesick as I previously was. I think this is because of the relationship in the dressing room. We are all very intimate and very, very close. And it may be one of the reasons behind our team's success.

My aim is to play for Bangladesh for a very long time, at least 10-12 years. I know I will have to work very hard for that. I was getting a lot of starts since the World Cup, but I couldn't convert them into big knocks. Finally, I managed to break that pattern and make some big scores. That was due to two major reasons. After reaching twenty runs, I put more value on my wicket and became more selective with my shots.

After this series, I will work on my batting. There are two or three issues which I will try to refine. I know that in Bangladesh, as you said, many talents come out, but they do not generally last. So I still have a long way to go. I might face some bad times, but this is not the time to think about that. I am enjoying my batting and my cricket and my focus is to prolong that success.

I heard a lot of people saying that I am very calm and cool, even when hitting boundaries. I don't exactly have an answer for that. The thing is; the shots that I practise in the nets are the shots that I execute on the pitch. That's why I believe that the more time I spend in the nets, the better I can do in the middle.

Mashrafe bhai [Bin Mortaza] predicted that I would score 10,000 runs before ending my career. While I believe that is possible if I play consistently for 10-12 years in the national side, there is another dream which I have. However, that dream is something I will keep to myself.

Mashrafe bhai is a fighter. And he knows how to get the best performances out of a player. Like Mashrafe bhai, I also believe that besides being a good cricketer, you have to be a good soul. I really admire the fighting spirit. That's why my favourite players are Shakib bhai [Al Hasan] and Yuvraj Singh.

The other people who I have followed are Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara. When I started playing cricket I used to be a right-handed batsman. It was only after watching them play those drives that I decided to become a left-hander. If you notice, I still prefer throwing the ball with my right hand. I even bowl with my right hand.

Mustafizur [Rahman] and I are from the same area, so we may spend more time together. I don't think that I am old enough or experienced enough to pass judgment on any player, but his simplicity is extraordinary.

Out of all the bowlers I have faced so far, [Trent] Boult was the most difficult. But the more challenging things get, the more I enjoy.

No matter how I look at it, cricket is my profession now. So my philosophy is very simple. As it is my bread and butter, I have to do my job sincerely and play well but I think education is also very important. I'm studying Sociology at a private university. As a student I tend to shirk my responsibilities at times, but I am not like that when it comes to cricket.