Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das recently talked about his brief stint at the IPL in 2023.
Although he has been a constant in the Bangladesh team since his debut in 2015, he hasn't been a consistent presence in the T20 leagues around the world. Apart from the Bangladesh Premier League, Das' appearances in franchise cricket have been very limited.
Litton Das' IPL career
Das' only stint at the IPL came in 2023 when the Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for his base price of INR 50 lakh.
That year, he played just one match, against the Delhi Capitals, before returning from the tournament mid-way for personal reasons.
Das made just 4 runs from 4 balls in the match and failed to have an impact as the wicketkeeper, and missed two stumpings as KKR failed to defend their low score of 127.
"I felt they didn't need me" - Litton Das on his experience in the IPL
Speaking on Bangladesh Cricket's Char Choka podcast, Litton re-lived his brief IPL experience but did not have too many good things to say.
“I felt KKR didn’t really need me that much,” Litton said. “The team also didn’t support me the way I expected.”
Das went on to say that his inclusion in the playing XI was very haphazard as well. He said that KKR had made a rash decision to include him and did not inform him until the literal eleventh hour.
“Usually, a player is informed before a match that they will be playing the next day, or something along those lines. I had been sitting out for two matches, and there was no such discussion with me at all,” Litton said.
“Suddenly, at 11 PM, I got a message saying, ‘You will play.’ I tried with whatever energy I had. In cricket, sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don’t. That day just wasn’t mine," he added.
Bangladesh players in the IPL
Bangladeshi players in the IPL have always been few and far between. Star pacer Mashrafe Mortaza played only one match all the way back in 2009. Batter Tamim Iqbal and keeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim, too, have never been on the field in IPL colours.
All-rounder Shakib al Hasan was a consistent presence at KKR in the 2010s and continued to play until 2019 with the Sunrisers Hyderabad as well. Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, too, has been in and out of various IPL squads since debuting in 2016.
Right before IPL 2026, Rahman was signed by KKR after previous stints at SRH, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Chennai Super Kings. But due to worsening relations between India and Bangladesh, and pressure from external groups, the BCCI ordered KKR to release Rahman.
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Litton Das' international career
Over his 11-year career, Litton Das has been a constant presence in the Bangladesh line-up and a steady presence behind the stumps as well.
He has also made over 3,000 runs in Tests and over 2,700 runs each in both ODIs and T20Is.
Currently, Litton Das is playing for Bangladesh in the Test series against Pakistan at home. While Litton didn't leave a mark in the first Test, in the second, he made a century in the first innings and followed it up with a half-century in the second.
