What has happened to Litton Kumar Das, who was left out of the Bangladesh ODI squad for the final ODI against Sri Lanka despite being regarded as the most gifted batter in the country’s current cricketing generation?
The newly-appointed selection panel for Bangladesh was not prepared to wait to continue with Litton, who was out twice in a row by left-arm bowler Dilshan Madushanka in the opening two One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka. Litton has averaged 21.41 against left-arm pacers in the 90 innings he has batted in ODI cricket thus far, but he has been bowled 17 times by them.
Renowned Bangladeshi coach Nazmul Abedin, who has known Litton since his youth, believes that the right-hand hitter’s inability to control his shot-making is a major factor in his failure.
“The way he (Litton) got out yesterday (in the second ODI), if the fielder was placed slightly here and there it could have been a four and we would have said it’s a brilliant shot,” Nazmul told Cricbuzz on March 16. “A hitter knows where the fielder is and has the entire field placed in his mind when he stands to bat, so he naturally wants to make the shot by avoiding the defender. In that scenario, Litton is out of control because, in order to prevent the ball from going to the fielder, you play a little bit early or late when you are aware that one is in the square.
Nazmul expressed his opinion that Litton is suffering from over-experimenting with his technique. “Perhaps he is thinking ‘this is in my reach and I can play this shot’ but he certainly doesn’t have the control on the ball that is required to place it in the gaps, that pin point control,” Nazmul stated. “I believe that because his method varies occasionally, he is not consistent in it. He claimed that his current batting style was not natural to him and that as a result, he had not developed into Litton Kumar Das. “He didn’t shuffle the way he does now even twenty innings ago, and you can’t play one way for ten days and another way for ten, and so on.
“When you are bringing changes in your technique you would be very much technique-conscious while batting and that will take away some of your time because your focus is not totally on the ball, rather part of your focus is on whether you’re doing the thing right or not.”
In his past ten innings, Litton has not scored fifty runs. Only two fifties in his last 20 innings came in the 2023 World Cup, against England (76) and India (66). Both matches resulted in losses. At an average of 24.07, Litton has amassed 313 runs in 14 One-Day Internationals since the 2023 ODI World Cup began.
Nazmul further mentioned that Litton has been dismissed a few times since he hasn’t been able to play the ball late. “As I mentioned before, he lacks control because, when you play a shot, the ball would pitch in front of you and then bounce, making it impossible to tell precisely what height it would come from until you make the hit. It can swing or not, and it can come two inches higher or lower than you anticipate. Your survival depends on your ability to make a snap judgment. similar to switching from firm to flexible hands.”
Given that Litton has historically entered a slump after scoring well in one or two innings, his consistency has frequently been a cause for concern. Regardless of whether he is regarded as Bangladesh’s most brilliant batter of his generation, he will find it difficult to have a sustained run with the squad unless he improves his consistency.
