It has been eight years since Litton Das started his career. Naturally gifted, he was deemed to be the biggest thing for Bangladesh. Over the years he has become a mainstay in Bangladeshi middle order with some fine performances, but has he fulfilled the potential?
Bangladesh started the World Cup, 2023 on the wrong foot as senior player Tamim Iqbal gave a controversial statement regarding his exclusion from the team; things became ugly when Shakib questioned his intention. All this didn’t look well especially since both of them are from the golden generation of Bangladesh and are in the twilight of their respective careers.
The question shifted to who will be leading the Bangladesh after Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al-Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah retires ( Mashrafe Mortaza among golden five have already retired).
It’s a question that the Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, or Babar Azam obsessed may not think too much about; but from a Bangladesh perspective, it’s a massive question.
A question of what next.
In such a scenario, the role of Litton Das and Mustafizur Rahman becomes crucial as the duo are the most senior players in the team beyond the senior brigade.
But what about Litton Das, the man with a captivating craft with the bat?
When on song, Litton is the best Bangladeshi batsman to watch, his cover drive, the flicks and punches mesmerise the spectators, the hand eye coordination is so beautiful that you wish to watch his shots again and again. This is the reason it leaves you frustrated at times when you see him underutilising the immense potential he has.
A look at his Test record will tell the story; while he has an average of 47.89 in 87 First Class games with 18 hundreds, he only has 2394 runs at 36.27 in 39 Tests with only 3 hundreds to his name.
However, it’s the One day format that beckons our attention in the context of Liton Das. In 162 List-A games, he averages 36.59 while his average in ODI is 32.32, after 78 games in 8 years.
A technically sound batsman who thinks before he plays a shot- Liton Das sees his name against some clearly underwhelming numbers.
He clearly has not lived up to his own potential of being a consistent performer- has he?
Is everything looking antipathetic?
The answer is, Litton is only 28, with eight years in International cricket under his belt.
It’s also where things turn brighter as given his experience and the factor of reliability in the recent times, he had shown signs of taking the mantle from Shakib for being the best Bangladeshi player.
However, Litton Das realises or so it seems that he’s got to perform at a global events consistently to be acknowledged as one of the best in business.
It could be argued, the World Cup in India has come at just the right time for him. The mega ODI battle takes shape at a time when the team needs someone to step up in the absence of Tamim Iqbal.
Someone who can stand alongside Shakib and Mushfiqur in the most challenging circumstances.
Liton also knows that he might be the one who has to take up the mantle in the future and his numbers from the bat need to compliment his compelling, but far from exceptional batting.
The World Cup is where he will have the chance to play against all the teams in different types of conditions.
Yet, that’s not all; Litton
will also have to ensure that he scores consistently, an area where he has been found wanting, In the last 14 innings he has played in ODI cricket, Litton has crossed 20 in 7 innings but has only 3 half centuries and 0 hundreds.
This clearly reflects his problem to convert his starts in scores. It is a fact that he must be well aware because the consistency separates a good batter from great one.
Bangladesh would dearly hope that Litton turns himself into the batter they have expected him to be all these years.
Where are the bulk of runs, the daddy hundreds?
Ideal if the great turnaround happened in this world cup itself, isn’t it, Mr. Das?