Bangladesh wicket-keeper batter Litton Kumar Das said on Tuesday that their heroics against Pakistan are a thing of a past and now they need to look forward to the upcoming series against India. Bangladesh will travel to India on September 15 to play two Tests and three T20Is.
The Asian side are flying high on the back of their maiden Test series win over Pakistan but Litton said that he feels the party is over and now they need to focus on their next assignment rather than resting on their laurels. “We have played very well against Pakistan. That is already in the past,” Litton told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday.
“Obviously, very important (to leave the Pakistan series behind) and you (media) also need to help a bit. It would be better if you don’t talk too much about the Pakistan series. There is a big challenging series ahead (against India). For me as a player, that is in the past (Pakistan Series). But we definitely gained confidence from that.
“When we play India at their home, they are always the better side. I wouldn’t say it will be extremely challenging or very easy. They are a very good team in their own conditions. If you look at the rankings, they are so high up. So I think it will be a challenging series for us,” he said.
Litton said that their biggest challenge is to adapt to the SG ball from Kookaburra. “India is a big team and the ball will also change,” Litton observed. “We rarely play with that ball. It will be challenging. The players are working very hard.
“As for preparation, we are facing the main bowlers as much as we can. The SG ball is somewhat difficult. It’s tough to play with the Kookaburra when the ball is new, but it’s easier to play once the ball is old. However, with the SG ball, playing with the new ball is somewhat easier, but playing with the old ball is tougher. We are practicing, let’s see what happens.”
Litton pointed out that his side needs to focus on taking charge of the opening session each day in order to take command. “We need to focus on this. In Test cricket, you have to win sessions. Every session is important. Personally I feel we couldn’t play our 100% in the first sessions. There is room for a big improvement here,” he said.
Litton revealed that it’s time he takes responsibility in the batting order without putting too much pressure on himself to perform literally every game. “I’ve been playing cricket for 10 years, so I do have some experience,” he said. “Now is the time to take responsibility. If I don’t take responsibility now, when will I? But that doesn’t mean I will have to take responsibility in every match. I am a human and I can make mistakes,” said Litton adding that he tries to play a positive brand of cricket as he feels that is the only way to score runs.
“It’s not like I play very attacking cricket. I think I try to score from the balls which seem like they are in the scoring zone to me. In any format now, people give more importance to runs. In the last two Tests, we reached a stage where we couldn’t score runs. Since I came on to bat, I played run-a-ball and there was a flow that came into the play. I feel that the way I play, especially in Test cricket, everyone in the world plays more or less the same attacking cricket nowadays.
“Definitely the field setup is usually aggressive in Test cricket. With that, the chances of getting out are high, but the chances of scoring runs are high as well. If I have batters with me, like where I bat, I mostly get Miraz with me, or from the top order I might also get Shakib Bhai, Mushfiq Bhai, or someone else. So, (batting with) Miraz plus bowlers, if I don’t play a few shots, the team’s score won’t increase. I will be stuck in a hole. This is how I want to play.”