'Good that the bad times came quickly'

Soumya Sarkar has seen the other side of the coin very quickly in his international career with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) recently delivering the message, by excluding him from the central contracts, that opportunities for any player cannot be unlimited and that consistent performances are required to keep one's place.

Soumya however said that, even though he is going through a bad phase, he believes that he can take it in a positive way. "Yes, a bad time has come but I think it's good as the bad time came quickly in my career and it will be good for me if I can move past this phase," Soumya told reporters yesterday in Mirpur.

The 25-year old batsman, who has already played 75 international matches since making his debut against Zimbabwe in December 2014, added that he was now placing more emphasis on skills along with his focus on fitness.

"I am working on my fitness. Now the weather is too hot and if I can keep my fitness then rest of the things will be easy for me. I am talking with my former BKSP teachers as well as [Nazmul Abedin] Fahim sir and I am following their advice so that I can correct my mistakes. I am focusing more on skill," said Soumya, adding that there was no point in him thinking about the exclusion from the central contract as it was not in his hands.

The left-hander was happy with the news that Bangladesh jumped to number eight in the ICC Test rankings for the first time but he was not going overboard with the achievement. "Absolutely, it's a matter of pride as we are now at least ahead of two teams, whereas we were once the bottom-ranked side. The other thing is that I was also a part of the team at that time. But the most important thing is to keep this position and also to improve further," opined the young batsman.