Soumya Sarkar's return driven by Australia's pace challenge

Says Bangladesh chief selector Habibul Bashar

FE Team | Published: July 27, 2026 22:24:32

Bangladesh chief selector Habibul Bashar said the recall of Soumya Sarkar to the Test side after more than five years was driven by the belief that the left-hander is better equipped than most other available options to cope with Australia's pace attack, according to Cricbuzz.
Sarkar was the biggest surprise in Bangladesh's squad for the opening Test against Australia in Darwin, starting on August 13. The left-handed batter returns to the Test setup having last played against West Indies in Mirpur in February 2021.
Bashar admitted Bangladesh's lack of a reliable right-handed opening batter also influenced the decision. Mahmudul Hasan Joy's recent struggles with form and technique prompted the selectors to look elsewhere, while they felt Sarkar's skills against pace and bounce made him a suitable option for Australian conditions.
"We definitely had a few things in mind. When we picked Soumya, we had in mind that we are going to have two left-handers at the same time. We almost have five left-handers in the top now. And if we open Tanzid Tamim and Shadman [Islam], then we are going to have four left-handed batsmen in a row. It is not ideal," Bashar said.
"Definitely from this thinking, Joy is one of the right-handed openers who is useful for this combination. But so far, we are a little worried about Joy's performance and the way he is batting. But he is still very much in our plan because we need a right-handed opener, otherwise we are going to have many [left-handers] at once. So since Joy's is not in that good form and his batting looks a little vulnerable.
"Soumya Sarkar is definitely someone who has played international cricket for a long time and the pace we are expecting in Australia he is used to it.
"We also thought about other openers, but unfortunately, at the moment, our right-handed opener is not very ready. The few people we are working with are completely new. Taking them to Australia will definitely be a little difficult for them. We are working on them. Our series will be a high-performance team. In the following series, we hope that within a year we will be able to prepare a right-handed batsman in the opening slot, which we really need," he said.
Bashar also backed the return of wicketkeeper-batter Jaker Ali, saying he had earned his place through strong performances after being dropped from the Test side. Jaker, who last featured in a Test during the Sri Lanka series in 2025, returns with Litton Kumar Das unavailable for the opening Test because of injury. The chief selector acknowledged that Mahidul Islam Ankon was unfortunate to miss out but stressed that Jaker remained ahead in the pecking order.
"Jaker Ali was not playing badly when he was playing the Test match. So when he was out of the team, he was actually fighting with his form. Then we took Jaker Ali as we had a lot of games ahead of us and we wanted him to come back after playing these games because his mental state was not very good at that time, I mean he was a little devastated," he said.
"So the job we gave him, he did very well. The opportunities he got, the Premier League, our high performance games, he proved that he is ready in these games," he said. Ankon went as our backup keeper [to Zimbabwe] but Jaker will always come first."