Hathurusingha on Soumya: ‘I don't know what his problem is’

All-rounder Soumya Sarkar had a forgettable outing in the first ODI against New Zealand, becoming the seventh player in the history of the format to make a duck and go for 10 or more per over in the same match. 

Many believed Soumya was back in the squad because of being in head coach Chandika Hathurusingha's good books but before the series, selector Habibul Bashar denied that, saying he was in the team because of "experience" of playing in New Zealand. 

Soumya had not been in good form in white-ball domestic cricket but had a decent National Cricket League (NCL) where he scored 436 runs in six first-class matches at 48. 

"I have not seen Soumya's game in the last five matches, I don't really know what happened," Hathurusingha told reporters ahead of the second ODI in Nelson. "I only saw the last match. I don't know what Soumya's problem is. He was scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket. And we needed someone who could do both bowling and batting, as Shakib is not there."

Stand-in captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, before the first ODI, said Soumya was in the squad because of his all-round ability in the absence of Shakib Al Hasan. Despite his failure in the first match, Hathurusingha echoed Shanto. 

"Shakib has been playing for 17 years, we are looking for someone like Shakib. This is why Soumya's presence in the XI was important. What Shakib can do, Soumya can't, we want him to bat and bowl properly. We think of him as an all-rounder who can contribute to the team," he said.