Litton Das Wants Tamim Iqbal And Mahmudullah To Enjoy Their Game In Comeback Series

Bangladesh stand-in skipper Litton Das said that he just wants Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah to enjoy their game in the comeback series. He said that as a captain he doesn’t want to put pressure on them as they are returning after a while.

Bangladesh are all set to take on New Zealand in the three-match ODI series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium from September 21. Litton Das has been given the leadership role in the series in the absence of regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan. It’ll be an extremely crucial series for them ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023 after their dismal outing in Asia Cup 2023.

Senior pros have returned for Bangladesh in the series. Tamim Iqbal, who faced a back injury and missed Asia Cup 2023, is back. The opening batter will be eager to have game time as he has been out for a while. To play against the quality New Zealand attack, it’ll be a great opportunity for him to get into the groove.

Mahmudullah was dropped from the team after the home series against England. The upcoming series against New Zealand will be a great opportunity for him to stake his claim back in the team. Therefore all the eyes would be on him along with Tamim Iqbal.

Litton Das while talking about Mahmudullah and Tamim Iqbal highlighted that performances come when players enjoy their game. He added that he doesn’t want to give specific roles to them as it will depend on the match situation. Speaking to reporters, he explained (as quoted by Cricbuzz):

“When there are two seniors (Tamim and Mahmudullah) it helps in every way. There are coming back to play after a while and I don’t want to put any pressure on them. Let them enjoy the game because chance of success is much more if someone can enjoy the game.”

“I don’t want to tell about any specific roles (to anyone) because it depends on different situations. If we lose quick wickets and Riyad (Mahmudullah) bhai goes to bat with 30 to 35 overs he will bat as per situation. So there is nothing to say because he is mature and the same thing applies to Soumya and wherever they will bat they will try to score runs. And not only need them every batter need to score runs.”

Hopefully, I can make a comeback quickly – Litton Das

Litton Das further talked about his form, saying that he’s trying to find his shortcomings and hopefully, he can make a comeback in the series. He explained:

“I am trying to find out (my shortcomings) and practicing and hopefully I can make a comeback quickly. There is nothing like (short of) confidence and let’s see what happens.

“We couldn’t do anything tactically because we could not practice for the last couple of days and don’t know how much can we practice today and probably we might have to play the main match without practice. This is a mental game and they have quality spinners (apart from pace bowlers).”

Bangladesh had a training session on 19th September but they failed to complete it due to rain.