The focus for Bangladesh shifts as they enter a new era under Litton Das’ captaincy in ODI cricket with the tri-nation series in the United Arab Emirates, starting on Saturday, while keeping an eye on next year’s World Cup.
Bangladesh will take on Zimbabwe in the series opener at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the venue of their drawn Test against Afghanistan.
This will be Bangladesh’s first ODI since July, when they lost the three-match series by 2-1 to hosts Zimbabwe.
That marked the end of the Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s captaincy era, during which Bangladesh saw both sides of the coin, as they lost three consecutive bilateral series, including just one win in the first 10 matches.
Once a dear format, ODIs seemed to have become one Bangladesh had forgotten how to play. However, under Miraz, Bangladesh turned things around, winning four consecutive series.
They beat West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka – all at home – before losing to Zimbabwe away.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board then handed the captaincy to Litton, who had already been captaining the T20I side since May last year. Litton has led Bangladesh in ODIs before, but in an interim capacity.
‘We had a discussion among ourselves last night [Wednesday], including the captain, and everyone was briefed on their respective roles. I think everyone is clear about their responsibilities,’ said all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain.
‘We have known Litton for a long time, and he is a very exciting captain. The way he reads the game from behind the stumps while keeping the wicket is excellent. I believe he will do well as captain, and as a team, hopefully we will prove that.’
This will be Bangladesh’s first tri-nation ODI series since 2019, when they beat West Indies in the final in Dublin.
In fact, that remains Bangladesh’s only win in a multinational tournament or series in the men’s ODI format.
Mosaddek, who was the player of the match in that final, stated that the win would inspire them.
‘The 2019 tri-nation series was a source of inspiration for us. Preparation-wise, I think we are in a good place. The Asia Cup is a good opportunity ahead of the World Cup, and winning these tri-nation series would give us a lot of confidence going forward,’ said Mosaddek.
Bangladesh are currently ninth in the ICC ODI rankings, just one below Afghanistan (8), and two above Zimbabwe (11).
Mosaddek stressed that they needed to put on a team performance.
‘I think if we can play good cricket on the field, that will prove a lot about how good a team we are. We all need to come together and show how well we can perform as a unit.
‘Cricket is not an individual game; it is a team game. So, I think our biggest challenge is to show how well we can perform as a team,’ he said.
While Bangladesh played a Test against Afghanistan a few days ago, some players who were not part of the squad still face the challenge of adjusting to the scorching heat.
‘There will certainly be challenges. Those of us who arrived later are trying to adjust to the conditions. I think practice sessions today and tomorrow [Friday] will help us acclimatise ahead of our first match,’ said Mosaddek.
