Soumya Sarkar Doesnt Want Any Panchpando in Bangladesh Team in the Future

The “Panchpando” of Bangladesh cricket were Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah Riyad. Today, they are almost a thing of the past. However, since then, no new “Panchpando” has emerged in Bangladesh. In an interview with Prothom Alo, cricketer Soumya Sarkar said that he is happy no new Panchpando has formed.
Soumya said, “No new Panchpando has emerged, and I’m happy about that. I don’t want anyone in the future to become one either. There shouldn’t be any ‘Pando’ at all.”
He explained the reason, “Because it creates division within the team. You think that five players are proper, but those five aren’t playing alone. There are six others, making eleven in total. But they get overshadowed. For instance, if someone outside of those five scores 30 runs, that 30 runs holds no value. That’s why I don’t want anyone to be like that again.”
Giving an example, the cricketer added, “For example, so far we’ve won only one tri-nation series” (he immediately recalls Utpal Shuvro, mentioning that in 2019, before the World Cup, he and Soumya Sarkar were among the key performers in that series against Ireland). “Mossadek also played well with me in that series. But we got no recognition. I’m not saying we should get all the credit. Every player’s performance matters. But at that time, the media didn’t credit either of us. Small things like this happen. That’s why I’m saying, when you highlight someone, another player’s performance gets overshadowed.”
However, Soumya didn’t forget to acknowledge the contribution of the original Panchpando in Bangladesh cricket: “They [the Panchpando] are legends for our country. Bangladesh will never forget what they achieved. The way they led the team forward… But as I said, whenever they were constantly called Panchpando, no one kept track of who batted at six or seven.”
Regarding Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya said, “He doesn’t interact much with the media, which might be a big disadvantage. If he did engage with the media, I believe the discussions about him would have been much more extensive.”