Bangladesh captain Litton Das made it clear that the recent Test and ODI defeats will not carry over as his side gets ready for the opening T20 match against Sri Lanka.
Speaking at a press briefing before the first game of the three-match series, Litton said the team is mentally prepared to switch gears.
“Test is one format, ODI is another, and T20 is different,” he said. “We know how to play in this format, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”
In his words, the past was over. No point looking back. Bangladesh wants a clean slate.
It’s been a swift turnaround—just a day earlier, Bangladesh had suffered an ODI series defeat at the same ground. Now, with barely 24 hours between formats, the Tigers are looking to strike back.
“It won’t be easy,” Litton admitted. “Sri Lanka are strong in their home conditions. But we’ll give our 100 percent. The rest, we’ll see.”
Litton didn’t play in the ODI series due to a dip in form. Instead, he spent that time working on his T20 preparation.
“I wasn’t performing well in ODIs, which is why I was benched,” he said. “But I used that period to train specifically for T20s. I’ll try to make that training count now.”
Despite some player changes, the team has had little rest between matches. But Litton downplayed concerns about fatigue.
“As a professional player, you go through phases like this. During the BPL, you often play back-to-back games,” he said. “I don’t think it will have much of an effect. And if it does, we’ll discuss it with management.”
He’s also satisfied with the team composition. Litton said allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin fits the role he was hoping for, and he expects Tanzim Sakib to contribute in a similar way.
In the last ten T20 meetings between the two sides, Sri Lanka has won six, Bangladesh four.
“We want to start from where we left off,” Litton declared, referencing Bangladesh’s recent thriller of a win over their rivals in the T20 World Cup.
That narrow two-wicket victory in the US has set the stage for the upcoming series. The first test comes in Pallekele, where the two sides will clash under the lights.
