National head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe seemed to push form-less Soumya Sarkar into further trouble by continuing with him in the ongoing New Zealand tour instead of allowing him to gain confidence in pressure-less situation, said cricket analysts on Wednesday.
Hathurusinghe’s decision also resisted technically sound Mominul Haque from earning a place in the playing XI against New Zealand despite Tigers desperately needed someone at the top to play an anchor role to prevent their regular batting collapse.
The demand to include Mominul grew stronger after the three-match one-day international series opener as Tigers lost one of their most dependable and technically sound batsmen Mushfiqur Rahim due to hamstring injury in the first match.
However, Hathurusinghe remained adamant to stick with his own theory despite losing the following two ODIs that brought back the high-flying Tigers on earth as they were cleanly swept away after two and a half years.
It was learnt that members of the selection panel have asked Hathurusinghe several times to include Mominul in the playing XI but the Sri Lankan remained stubborn with his age-old theory of bracketing Mominul as a Test specialist.
‘We had asked him regarding Mominul but it is up to him to make the last call,’ said a selector on request of anonymity.
‘Certainly we needed someone like Mominul at the top and he was also among runs in BPL before going to Australia for the preparation camp ahead of New Zealand tour.’
Hathurusinghe, regarded as one of the most successful coaches of Bangladesh, had always been lucky as far as calling the ultimate shot is concerned regarding everything involving Tigers and so far managed to convince the high-ups thanks to success of the team.
However, Tigers’ recent performance indicate that all is not going well in the dressing room as well as in the playing field and some players look to take extra leverage being in the good book of Hathurusinghe.
Former national coach Sarwar Imran said that though he is unaware regarding the coaching philosophy behind this but experience says it won’t be fruitful for team as well as Soumya if he continues in this manner.
‘Soumya is struggling and it is clear from the way he has played so far and still continuing with him only puts him under more pressure as he is more likely to lose confidence,’ said Imran.
‘Naturally if any player is going through a rough patch he should be given the chance where he can play his normal cricket. He should be able to score loads of runs to get back the confidence and that cannot be expected from him batting under pressure,’ he said.
Imran added that he still believes Mominul would have been ideal in New Zealand condition where one needs technique to survive.
‘I think it is unwise to label him as a Test cricketer and he showed his stroke making ability in the BPL,’ said Imran.
Former national captain Aminul Islam also took a swipe at Hathurusinghe for continuing with Soumya who looked completely out of sort. s.
Writing in a column in cricket website Pavilion, Aminul said coach’s policy regarding Soumya is completely ‘wrong.’
‘I would say again, Soumya is a highly talented player. But he needs a break now,’ wrote Aminul. ‘I think the way he is being continued it is destroying him.’