Diehard fans of Bangladeshi cricket often suffer from a certain form of starvation since a huge void remains in the quantity of cricket played between the Tigers and the relatively established cricket teams with vast history. However, the scenario keeps improving, albeit slowly.

 For me though, the aforementioned starvation had channeled my attention to the domestic circuit, where I could gladly keep track of the players I care about. This is far more enjoyable than, for instance, seeing Virat Kohli perform in his 300th ODI.

 Speaking of enjoyment, following this unknown chap from Dinajpur in the 2013-2014 season became my obsession. He was plundering runs in volumes and at levels of consistency previously unheard of in Bangladeshi domestic cricket history. Despite seeing briefly, I was hooked; I had become a Liton Das believer way before his breakthrough into The Tigers in 2015.

And like many of his predecessors, Liton struggled to translate his domestic form into the international arena. Still, there were vivid glimpses of a supremely talented cricketer. It was only a matter of time, I believed, as I was well aware of his appetite for runs.

And it was Tamim Iqbal had who reinforced my faith in Liton's potential when we dined together during our Test tour in Hyderabad in 2017 when he said that 'it is not even a matter of an innings, it could be one shot he plays that turns Liton around into the player we know he can be'.

To hear that from Tamim was enough for me. I was ready to back Liton as a future mainstay of the Bangladesh batting, irrespective of the number of years it takes.

Unfortunately, much like Soumya Sarkar's case, another sharing a common minority background, Liton's initial sub-par performances and inconsistency had triggered negative attention from certain vocal sections among the Tigers fandom.

Up to the end of 2018, Liton was averaging a paltry 25 from his first 13 Tests and worse, a 22 from his first 24 ODIs. Thus, patience amongst fans, especially on social media, was waning.

When new players, especially batters, come into the national ranks, fans tend to compare them to our gold standards set by the likes of Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.

However, the international arena invariably is a baptism of fire for an average newbie and for our big three, the roads at the start of their national career were no less than a mean obstacle course, as verified by statistics that follows.

Until 2012 since making their respective debuts, Mushfiqur averaged 25 from his first 104 matches, while Tamim and Shakib averaged 29 and 35 from their first 99 and 122 matches, respectively.

Over a decade since 2012 has witnessed staggering growth from the three stalwarts. Tamim notched up his average to 45 from 116 matches in that exclusive period, while Mushfiqur and Shakib boasted 45 and 41 from 129 and 99 ODIs, respectively.

While these players did not arrive at the centre stage with the skills required to flourish, they did come in with talent and determination to eventually come good; and they had passed with flying colours.

This average-based comparison sheds light back to my focal subject, Liton Das, since the stylish batter is apparently turning things around four times faster than the rate with which Tamim, Mushfiqur and, to a lesser extent, Shakib did themselves.

Since January 2019, Liton is averaging a stellar 43 from 29 ODIs and 42 in Tests, and that too while adapting to contrasting batting roles in the different formats.

The mental strength Liton had shown to prevail, despite being on the receiving end of atrocious level of criticism, has been nothing short of extraordinary.  It is something the likes of Soumya, Shabbir Rahman and Mohammad Mithun can take inspiration from.

It is his self-belief especially, more than his improved batting records, that convinces me that Liton Das has not only arrived, but he is here to stay.

*The writer is a freelancer for The Daily Star.