Ashraful backs Liton to break fastest fifty records in ODIs and Tests

Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful held the record of scoring the fastest fifty in all three formats for Bangladesh but on Wednesday, he lost one of the accolades to the Tigers' opener Liton Das, who smashed an 18-ball fifty against Ireland in Bangladesh's win in the second T20I at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.     

Ashraful scored a 20-ball fifty against the West Indies in the 2007 T20 World Cup which was the fastest for Bangladesh in the format, a record which stood for 16 years until Wednesday when Liton bettered the feat. The 38-year-old has now tipped Liton to break the other two records that he holds in ODIs and Tests.

"Records are there to be broken. This record stood for almost 16 years. There are still two more records in Tests and ODIs. I hope Liton will break these two as well, especially considering the way he is playing. When you hold records, it obviously feels good. It feels good to see your name at the very top. The record was made in the first T20 World Cup in 2007, it was a world record back then. Seven days after that, Yuvraj Singh scored a fifty in 12 balls against England," he told the reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.

Ashraful led Bangladesh to a historic five-wicket win over Australia in the 2005 NatWest tri-nation series with a 101-ball 100 and then followed it up with a 52-ball 94 where he reached his half-century in 21 balls which is still the fastest by a Bangladesh batter.
In Tests, the right-handed batter registered a record 26-ball fifty against India in 2007.

Ashraful deemed Liton a world-class batter and hoped that he would keep consistency levels up. 

"When Liton plays well, it's fun to watch him bat. He is a class player, a world-class batter. I hope the consistency will be there," he said. 

"There is nothing to say about Liton's innings. He has been extraordinary for the last 2-3 years. He has been playing well in all formats, especially in Tests as he is playing with a 50-plus average. Now, he is batting with high strike rates in the other two formats which is what we want to see," he added.