‘Putting pressure on Liton will only make things tougher for him’

Bangladesh's star opener Liton Das is going through a rough patch, and veteran coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim thinks that the more pressure will be put on Liton, the harder it will be for him to get back amongst runs. 

Liton is yet to open his account in the Tigers' ongoing three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in Chattogram -- he was out for a golden duck in the first match and again for the same score, this time playing three deliveries, in the second ODI yesterday.   

In the first game, left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka's delivery nipped back sharply as Liton was cramped for room and only managed to chop it onto his stumps. He fell victim to a seemingly loose delivery in the second game, flicking an in-swinging delivery off his pads to be caught at short leg -- a field position set for that exact purpose apparently. 

"The delivery to which he got out, it would not have been difficult for him to play that on the ground with soft hands. Maybe his body has gotten stiffer [as he has not been amongst runs recently]," Fahim said about Liton's dismissal yesterday.

Yesterday's duck was Liton's 14th in ODIs and seventh since January 2023. In fact, no other batter among Test-playing nations has been dismissed for naught in ODIs more than Liton since last year.

It was the third time in ODIs that left-arm pacer Madushanka had claimed Liton's wicket. Also, it was the 17th time in 35 innings that the right-handed batter was dismissed by a left-arm seamer in ODIs. 

"Maybe, he remains too cautious about the delivery that nips back in [from a left-handed pacer]," Fahim tried to explain Liton's vulnerability facing left-arm seamers. 

Fahim also mentioned that maybe Liton gets too cautious while batting and that's what is not working for him. 

"Not that he is taking things casually, he is cautious. But maybe he gets too cautious at times. It is very important to have confidence when batting. Things get trickier for him when the ball swings at the beginning of the innings," he added. 

Fahim also believed that the team need to support Liton through this rough patch. 

"I think it is important for the team management and all the players to support Liton and be by his side, considering that he might fail a few more times and that he would take some time to regain his form. As I said, it is a mental game. Putting pressure on him from the outside will only make things tougher for him," Fahim concluded.