I Couldn’t Perform As Per Expectation – Rony On His Stint In The BPL

Thanks to his up-to-par performance in the domestic circuit and also in the ‘A’ team, Bangladesh top-order batsman Rony Talukdar made a cut to the national set-up after an eight-year pause in the T20I series against touring England in March 2023 in Chattanooga. Since his return, he has featured in nine games in the shortest format of cricket, where he bagged a flurry 38-ball 67 over the touring Ireland in Sylhet, while his second best with a 23-ball 44 came from the same side in the same series. But in his next seven ties, he finished with a poor show that impelled the Bangladesh management to cut him from the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka. However, the 33-year-old promised to try his best to perform wherever he plays, knowing that it would provide the management with positive thoughts about him. The right-hander, who has just played a single ODI until now alongside 11 T20Is in his nine-year-long international career, also vowed to play across the formats, adding that he will continue playing cricket as long as he enjoys the game and his body permits. 

Q: How successful do you consider yourself?

Rony: To me, it is average. But it should have been better.

Q. You were expected to help the Bangladesh national cricket team conquer its opening dearth? How much could you do that?

Rony: Look, there is no end to good. However, it all depends on how long you can carry on with your acceptability. The more you can prolong your fine journey, the more you will be accepted by the management. However, everyone hopes to do well. No one wants to be defamed by his performance. But sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Q. You have been on and off in the national set-up since the inception of your career. And you have played only one ODI in your nine-year-long international journey; simultaneously, you returned to the T20Is after an eight-year-long pause. Would you please tell us the reasons behind this?

Rony: How would I tell that? Possibly, it was my bad luck or I lacked performance. I might not have performed the way our management expected me to. If I could, surely the selectors would have selected me. I think I was flawed. Now I am aiming to overcome those things. 

Q. How upbeat are you about managing your T20I on a regular basis?

Rony: It will be continued as long as I am fit. And to manage calls regularly in the national setup, of course I will have to perform up to par both domestically and internationally. There is no choice but to be roped into the national team. And I am trying for that only.

Q. You never played in the Test format. Would you like to play in the longest version of the game?

Rony: I have a desire to play across the formats. Perhaps you know that I have struck three double hundreds in first-class cricket. And each and every one of them was robust. Look, every player wants to feature in all three formats. And I will keep continuing to try to be fit to see me across the formats of the game.

Q. How are you enjoying the BPL? Could you play as per your expectations?

Rony: No, no, I couldn’t play as per my expectations in the tournament yet. I failed to perform in the early three or four games; after that, I was dropped for the two games. Nonetheless, I am trying to improve my batting.

Q. Although you weren’t picked up by the selectors for a long time, they still rely on you. How inspiring is that for you?

Rony: Look, they could rely on me thanks to my performance, and I will try to keep performing well in the upcoming days. Nothing could be more significant than the performance. If you perform, they will select you, and if you don’t, they won’t. And to bring out our performance, they have been holding training camps like the Bangladesh Tigers, the A team, and so forth. 

Q. Tell us about your career goal?

Rony: I will keep playing as long as I enjoy the game and I am fit.