Liton in full-swing self-destructive mode

The plight of Bangladesh opener Liton Das can only be explained if someone were to go through a few pages of a book relating to self-sabotage. 

A major symptom of the disorder is often associated with a person not being able to deliver despite having the skill, the will, and even the ability to make use of the talent they have within themselves.

Such is the situation with 29-year-old Liton Das who, with all the talent and ability, is doing injustice to what he can possibly achieve in the game, all with his own wrongdoing.

The right-handed opener's lengthy string of failures has most definitely begun to eclipse the sunshine provided by the few glimpses of sparkling performances which had ample promise to make him a potential world-beater.

In the third T20I against Zimbabwe at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Tuesday, Liton sped up the diminishment of his supposed pedigree in a ridiculous manner which has surfed social media, entertaining millions. 

He fell victim to pacer Blessing Muzarabani in only the fourth over of the first innings but the duration of the first four balls that resulted in his demise was entirely his own making. 

After the first delivery went straight to the fielder, Liton, batting on 12 (off eight deliveries), attempted and failed to execute two back-to-back scoops against Muzarabani. 

He was beaten on length of the ball in the first delivery and on the lack of pace in the next. Both deliveries were decent and nothing extraordinary, especially to someone of Liton's quality. However, instead of playing to his strengths, which is playing conventional shots with timing and elegance, he chose to go out of character in only the fourth over of the innings. 

After a couple of fails, to everyone's utter bafflement, Liton had another brain-fade moment – something he has come to be known for in recent contests – and tried to scoop for a third successive time! It was a juicy half-volley and Liton, in his premeditation, walked across to the offside to scoop yet again but this time, fortune did not favour him as he ended up dragging the ball onto the stumps. 

It won't be a stretch to assert that any batter in the world with a certain sense of clarity will attempt such an inexplicable string of shots. And that perception has been one of the most prevalent aspects that has come up when trying to dissect Liton's abysmal batsmanship. 

No pattern behind dismissals

Liton has played all three matches in Bangladesh's series win, amassing 36 runs, and, if he remains fit, he is expected to play the remaining two in Dhaka.

In those three knocks, he was out bowled when he missed a regulation in-swinger, played a loose shot to give catching practice in the second game, and dished out an appalling failed scoop on Tuesday. 

On top of all of this, it seems clear that Liton, who was dropped from the ODI squad in March, has nothing to worry about regarding his inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad. Such has, at least, been the position of the management of the Tigers setup who believe the right-handed batter, after nine years at the international level, is still one innings away from regaining some sort of form going into the major event. 

Many would see this as rock bottom in his string of failures but he had already seen the bottom of the barrel in the Test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year. 

Facing his first ball in the second innings of the first Test in Sylhet, when Bangladesh were hoping to save the match, he danced down the wicket and skied it, leaving spectators baffled. Even the most renowned of experts had to dig down on their acumen to explain what went down and the thought process of Liton. The perception has been somewhat the same ever since. The mentality versus technique discussion has weighed heavily towards the former with many convinced of the batter's lack of clarity. 

With another World Cup ahead, the Bangladesh Cricket Board seems hell-bent on taking one of their biggest disappointments to yet another grand stage, hoping that, perhaps this time, the sheer amount of talent, ability, and pedigree would come through. 

But as it stands, Liton's habit of self-sabotage seems not only damaging to himself but is likely to sink Bangladesh in another major tournament.