The sudden sickness of Liton Das was a major setback for Bangladesh, who were scheduled to play Sri Lanka on August 31 in Kandy to open their Asia Cup campaign.
Liton missed yesterday’s Tigers trip to Colombo because he had a high fever.
Despite having a negative dengue test, Liton, 28, is not in the greatest of health to make the trip today. As things stand, there is a good likelihood that Bangladesh’s opener against Sri Lanka in the tournament would be missed.
The Asia Cup is seen as the perfect opportunity for selectors to fine-tune the team before the ODI World Cup, which will be held in India in October-November. However, the selectors now face a major time pressure to prepare backup alternatives to compete in the continent’s championship match.
Finding the ideal balance in the team will be crucial for the selectors, and Liton’s sickness at this time would undoubtedly complicate their plans. After all, they had to cope with Ebadot Hossain’s ailment only a few days before by including young pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib in the Asia Cup squad.
Selector Habibul Bashar was worried about the Liton scenario, but the former captain of Bangladesh warned the Tigers that they would need to deal with it and have faith in the other players in the Tigers’ camp.
“Look, we’ve created a larger pool of gamers just for this purpose. Of course, Liton being totally healthy would have been ideal, but if he is unable to recuperate in a timely manner, we must accept reality as it is. But because Liton has a viral fever, we anticipate a speedy recovery. Let’s see whether he can play in the first game or not,” Bashar said to The Daily Star.
Bashar had confidence in the younger players to do well.
“We are prepared to place our trust in someone like Tanzid Hasan Tamim, but it would have been simpler for him if Liton had been there with him. It won’t be easy for the young people to adjust right away since we are already missing Tamim Iqbal, but they are competent,” remarked Bashar.
The last opportunity to train the squad’s reserve players will be the bilateral series against New Zealand after the Asia Cup. Tamim, an established opener for the Tigers, will return for the series.
Meanwhile, well-known coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim is still enthusiastic and willing to wager on the young guns’ aggressive approach.
“I’m excited because I believe that this young group of cricketers has a strong backbone and a winning attitude. They play aggressively a lot. They can go out and play their game whether I’m talking about younger Tamim, Towhid Hridoy, or even Shamim Hossain, who is still making his way in the squad, added Fahim.
Fahim further said, “I believe mentality is really essential, and someone like Tamim won’t modify his batting approach. The team’s mindset changed as a result of Hridoy’s strategy, and they are now eager to win games for Bangladesh.
It would be crucial for the young players to maintain their playing style, according to the coach of several legendary Bangladesh cricket players.
“There is no question that young people like Tanzid Tamim and others will encounter more difficult obstacles than they did in the past, and the game will be different. However, it’s crucial that people be given the opportunity to express themselves, even when there isn’t enough time. However, there are situations when it’s beneficial to act quickly and on instinct, he said.