Soumya Sarkar.
Like every other batsman of Bangladesh not named Tamim, Shakib, Mushfiq, or Mahmudullah, his career hovered between flashes of brilliance and utter oblivion.
He had that aggressive instinct Bangladesh desperately needed in a batting line-up full of anchors. Paired with his medium pace, he had the potential to become a fast-bowling all-rounder the Tigers would want in their line-up.
Emphasis on potential, though.
Like almost every other batsman of the Tigers, he would hit a century in one match, resulting in a secured spot in the team for the next five matches, in which all he would add the the scoreboard were single-digit numbers.
A decade after his debut, he remained part of the great unfulfilled promise of Bangladesh cricket. Not a failure, but never quite a pillar.
He was the kind of player who drifted in and out of the national side, the sort who made fans sigh and ask themselves, Why him again?
He just never found a way to be steady enough to anchor an innings, or reliable enough to finish one. He had too much talent to be ignored and was too fragile to live up to the hopes of 17 million people.
Now, I know what you are thinking.
Why in the world am I talking about this particular guy, with no context whatsoever?
Well, it's just that I died seventeen years ago.
It's also been seventeen years since I woke up in the body of Soumya Sarkar.
And today I was officially called up for the 2012 ICC U-19 World Cup team of Bangladesh.
Before we board that plane to Australia, let me take you back through the seventeen years I've spent turning wasted potential into something that might finally last.
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AN -This is more of an intro chapter. I will clear some things right now before going further.
To be honest, the reason I decided to write this is because of lack of cricket stories. Either its a BL love story or related to Indian team.
Now no hate to those Indian stories, I myself follow 2 of them, for example King Of Cricket by Kynstra, but how much do you want to overpower a single damn team?
That's like reincarnation and joining prime Real Madrid or Man City.
So I bought the same story and outline from an underdog perspective
Soumya will not be overly powerful. There is no system helping him. But that doesn't mean I will throw a reincarnator's work ethic out of window. He will be balanced. I will make sure his performance stays within believable range and within the conditions of Bangladesh's cricket infrastructure and family support.
Will there be some historical change?
Yes. Soumya's family, partner, birth year etc will be changed to suite the narrative of the story. The personality of other players and persons and just a mimicry and does not represent the actual personality.
Will there be India bashing, as it is from a Bangladeshi writer ?
Nop, but there will be some BCCI and ICC bashing.
Will there be Sri Lanka/ Nagin Dance controversy?
Obviously. This stuff is better than any current India vs Pakistan match. As an avid cricket shitposter from the subcontinent, it's my duty to spread a little chaos.
But there will be no hate message or anything like that. Just controversial rivalry people will enjoy.
Any hate, rage, or ungentlemanly behavior will stay strictly on the field. After all, the players are opponents, not enemies. And we fans are just cricket lovers who happen to clash when our teams play.
That's all I wanted to say.
Thank you. See you in next Chapter.
'.....' - thoughts
"...." -dialogue
*- notes at the end of chapter to clarify a topic or some fun facts