Liton Kumar Das has justified his selection in the Test team

Liton Kumar Das

The summer in Bangladesh has been always very hot and humid. The sun shines so brightly that it leaves the people exhausted. The Bangladeshis’ plea for rain continues throughout the summer season. Even the sweet and juicy fruits of the summer fail to calm the people of Bangladesh.

The exhausted Bangladeshis get a new life with the arrival of monsoon. Each drop of rain is celebrated in Bangladesh. Rain is the sublime gift of the heaven and the romanticists adores rain more than anything. But for the cricket lovers, it’s always a curse and play as a spoilsport.

The first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa was beautifully poised. But, all of a sudden, rain showed up at the fag end of the third day’s play and it continued to pour heavily in the fourth and fifth day as well and thus, brought a premature end to a fascinating content. The ardent followers of the game were hurt while the Bangladeshi cricket fans were left bemused as they believed that the Tigers might have pulled off an astonishing 1-0 lead in the series.

The belief of the fans didn’t stem from sheer imagination, but the dominating performance of the Tigers in all three days had made believe such. To the astonishment of all, it was South Africa who were on the back foot since day 1. As a matter of fact, Bangladesh have gained plenty of positives from the Chittagong Test – Mushfiqur Rahim’s improved captaincy and field setting, an inspiring display by the bowlers, the much needed resolve from the batsmen and of course, Liton Kumar Das.

Liton hails from the northern district of Dinajpur. His cricketing talent was groomed at BKSP. Since the school days, his appetite for fetching big scores impressed everyone. Liton’s talent aided him to get included in the Bangladesh Under-19 World Cup squad. In the Under-19 World cup of 2012 held in Australia, Liton’s exhibition of perfect technique and temperament on bowling friendly conditions were praiseworthy. Especially, his ability to play strokes pivoting on the back-foot with confidence in such a young age caught everyone’s attention. He fared well in the last year’s Under-19 World Cup in UAE as well. His batting average in the Under-19 World Cups has been a staggering 51.33.

Liton quickly got into the domestic circuit of Bangladesh in 2011-12 season and with the progression of time, his batting has only flourished. In the 2014-15 season, he was the second highest scorer in the Dhaka Premier League and the top scorer in the National Cricket League. Such a bright performance earned him a place in the Bangladesh national team this year.

Liton made his Test debut against India this year as the wicketkeeper-batsman and with the bat, he scored a fluent 44 off 59 balls which included eight fours and one six. It was an entertaining knock, but it sparked the thought that Liton was more suited to limited-overs version than Test cricket. In the Twenty20 and One-day International series against South Africa, Liton’s flashy strokeplay and shorter stay at the crease established such thoughts even more. Liton’s temperament for cricket’s purest format was under scrutiny.

Crucial stand against South Africa

In the first Test against South Africa, Bangladesh were still trailing by 53 runs when Liton came out to bat with Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh have failed to gain advantage against the top teams many times in the previous occasions and such fears started to crop up as soon as Mushfiqur Rahim was dismissed cheaply in the morning session of day 3. But at the end of the day, the Tigers were able to take a lead for the first time against the Proteas and Liton’s maiden Test fifty played an important role in that.

Liton was under enormous pressure before this Test match. 100 runs from the last six ODIs and 32 runs from two Twenty20 internationals doesn’t do enough justice to his talent. He was included in the team only as a wicketkeeper as Mushfiq’s injured finger still did not heal properly. In a team where the competition of establishing the place is huge, a bright performance from Liton was needed to justify his selection. He was useful as a keeper and it was high time to prove a point with the bat as well. And Liton’s bat did shine in Chittagong.

Liton’s innings against South Africa was more about patience, maturity, and composure. He curbed his attacking instincts to a greater extent and decided to spend more time at the crease. Morkel sent down short-pitched stuff and invited Liton to play the pull-and-hook shot while Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander tested him with their accurate bowling. But Liton stood like a saint and helped Bangladesh to travel through a very critical passage of play in the pre and post lunch session.

But as soon as he got settled, he unleashed his repertoire of strokes – a cover drive against Morne Morkel in the last ball of the 107th over was the best shot of the day. It was pitched up from the length with pace, but Liton just caressed it through the cover in an artistic manner. Then against the same bowler, Liton flicked a very good ball to midwicket for four in the 85th over. A single on the leg side in the first ball of 110th over in a delicate fashion brought up his first Test fifty.

Liton stitched an 82-run with Shakib Al Hasan for the sixth wicket and had the match not postponed due to rain, it might have proved beneficial enough.

Liton has proved that he is able enough to withstand the challenges of Test cricket. His technique is good while his temperament is rock solid. The hallmark of Liton’s batting is his astute footwork and timing. His timing is the best among the current Bangladesh batsmen and his sweetly timed drives and elegant flicks always reminds us about Mark Waugh. He is all about delicate stroke-play rather than murdering the ball mercilessly.

Liton Das is a blessing for Bangladesh cricket. He deserves to play higher up the order and in the upcoming days it is expected that he will be regarded as the best batsman of Bangladesh.