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Ganguly was my first hero: Soumya Sarkar


Bangladeshpost
Published : 11 May 2020 07:17 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 02:10 PM

Soumya Sarkar, the Bangladesh batsman, is a die-hard fan of former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. Like the legendary cricketer, the Tigers’ southpaw is also a left-handed batter and right-arm medium pacer, report agencies.

The Satkhira-born used to watch his hero, Ganguly, and was amazed by how the latter played the cover-drives and the lofted shots over the spinners’ heads. 

“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 had the privilege of meeting Ganguly during an Under-17 tour to Kolkata. However, the Young Turk couldn’t gather the courage to speak to him and rather, looked at him with utter astonishment. 

Sarkar also became an ardent follower of Yuvraj Singh, one of India’s greatest all-round cricketers. That Yuvraj trod the attacking route while batting impressed Sarkar to a great extent. Soumya lauded the left-hander for his fearless style of play.