Image Credit- BCB
Though worried about Bangladesh’s batting, coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto haven’t made any last-minute changes to the T20 World Cup team. So, despite only making 79 runs in his last six T20Is, all of which were played this year, Litton Das has managed to survive.
After scoring 1, 23, and 12 in the first three Twenty20 Internationals of the five-match series against Zimbabwe, Litton’s performance in these games had declined to such an extent that he was dropped from the team. He missed three straight tries to scoop Blessing Muzarabani, pulling the ball on to the stumps off the final one, which brought an end to his penultimate innings.
“Litton is a very important player in our team,” Shanto said in a press interaction on Wednesday. “He hasn’t had a good time recently. It can happen to any cricketer. But we didn’t want to bring in a new player for such a big event. We valued Litton’s experience. I wouldn’t have dropped him.
“We didn’t bat on good wickets in the T20I series [against Zimbabwe in Chattogram and Dhaka]. We had to go on and off from the ground due to rain in some of the matches too. But Litton and I should score runs in every game. We have clarity in the team, so we hope we will deliver at the World Cup.”
Although Hathurusinghe acknowledged that the top and middle order did not perform as well as anticipated versus Zimbabwe, he thought that there were times when they fired to win games—after all, they did win the series 4-1.
“We managed to get a good start in some matches, and when we didn’t get a good start, we managed to finish strongly in some matches,” Hathurusinghe said.
“We would love our top order to score all the time – in that kind of scenario, it takes a lot of pressure out of the other players. I am confident that – we have five matches leading up to the first game – we will be able to get those areas of concern sorted.”
Mahmudullah is a great example for the batters to follow, according to Shanto and Hathurusinghe. The 2024 team member, the senior batter, was benched before the 2022 T20 World Cup but made a comeback just before the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he was Bangladesh’s top batsman.
“He’s been playing regularly. He made a strong comeback. Lately he’s playing his best cricket,” Hathurusinghe said. “He’s changed his approach to batting a lot. His role is going to be in the middle order, probably be the enforcer in the middle as well as a finisher role, which he has done remarkably well lately in all formats, in the domestics as well.”
Shanto said that he was looking forward to Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan, the most experienced cricketers in the squad, to share their experience with the other players.
“The team is benefiting from [Mahmudullah’s] role in the batting line-up, at No. 5 or 6,” he said. “It gives the team an extra advantage. He is an inspiration for the youngsters. He has shown how to come back from such a tough situation.
“We want to give them [Mahmudullah and Shakib] good memories at the World Cup. It is our responsibility as the younger players. I want them to perform their normal roles but, at the same time, if they can spread their experience with the rest of the team, it will help us.”