The wicketkeeper-batter is one of the most experienced players in the Bangladesh setup.
The exceptional skills of one player contribute largely to the team’s success. But to be victorious, a team needs most players to put their hands up and rise to the occasion. With the Asia Cup 2025 in clear sight, Bangladesh find themselves in a tricky situation with too much to expect from skipper Litton Das.
The Asian mega-event will kickstart on September 9 and will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tournament will be played in the T20 format between eight teams. The teams are segregated into two groups of four each, and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Most teams have been preparing in full swing. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and hosts UAE are engaged in a Tri-series, whereas Sri Lanka are playing T20Is against Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh locked horns with the Netherlands at home and sealed the three-match T20I series with a 2-0 margin. The third T20I could not yield a result. Though the team looks in great shape, and their recent performances have shown promise, there might be an underlying problem. With Litton Das being the most experienced player in the team, a lot will fall on his shoulders. If they stay too dependent on their skipper, things might be difficult for them.
In the current Bangladesh squad for the Asia Cup 2025, Litton Das is by far the most experienced campaigner. Having played more than 100 matches, he has gathered over 2,400 runs in the shortest format. His ability to read the situation and pace his game accordingly separates him from other batters. Litton has been batting at No.3 in recent times, and the team will look up to him for stability in their batting order.
Having said that, not chopping and changing the top three has worked in Bangladesh’s favour in 2025. The Tigers have had fixed set of players in the top three on most occasions, and are expected to stick with the same combination in the Asia Cup.
As we can see, the Bangladesh skipper has done most of the heavy lifting in T20Is this year, notching up almost 450 runs. The two openers, Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Emon, have been in tremendous touch as well.
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Bangladesh have played 15 T20Is in 2025, and managed to win seven of them. Their latest game against the Netherlands ended without a result. Hence, the Tigers have a perfectly balanced 50-50 win/loss ratio in the shortest format this year. Though their top-order has been consistently scoring runs, the middle-order is raising concerns ahead of the big event.
The Tigers haven’t shown intentions of going berserk at the top of the order on most occasions. And this is why the middle-order batters will have to step up. The likes of Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy have shown glimpses of promise, but will have to be more consistent.
Since the beginning of this year, Jaker and Hridoy have scored the most runs in the middle order. The duo has scored more than 200 runs in 13 innings each, which is a promising sign. And the management has made the right decision to keep them in the same spot ahead of the all-important Asia Cup 2025.
But there might be an underlying problem. Both possess a strike rate of under 140, which might be a troubling sign for the Tigers. Openers Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Emon hold a strike-rate of 145.55 and 153.80, respectively. After the starts provided by the openers, the primary responsibility of the middle-order batters would be to continue scoring at the same rate, if not more.
The depreciated strike rates of the middle-order batters hold Bangladesh back from putting good totals on the board. And this is one of the most evident problems which they will have to solve before the continental tourney begins. Shamim Hossain has been the only batter in the middle-order to score at a strike-rate of more than 150, and maybe the management can decide to promote him by a spot.
As a team, Bangladesh will have to fix on an approach which they are willing to take. They will have to determine if they have the firepower to go hard at the top – something like the Australians. If not, they will have to bank on consistency to take themselves to a competitive total in every game.
Litton Das & Co. are featuring in Group B for the upcoming Asia Cup, with Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong. To feature in the top four, however, Bangladesh will have to make sure that they aren’t too dependent on their skipper.
Litton Das (C), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Tawhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Hossain, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Shaif Uddin.
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