'If we play good cricket, why not?': Litton backs Tigers to go all the way in tri-series

“If we play good cricket, why not?” Newly appointed ODI captain Litton Das fell back on the age-old wisdom that Bangladesh players so often reach for in press conferences when asked to predict positive outcomes. In this case, the question was whether Bangladesh could go all the way and become champions in the tri-nation series against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.

At Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the series opener against Zimbabwe, Litton faced questions about the Tigers’ recent batting struggles, particularly against the two other teams in the tournament. Both have had the better of Bangladesh in recent ODI series, and the captain’s optimism will count for little if the batting fails to turn up again.

Perhaps Litton’s “if we play good cricket” remark was aimed, consciously or otherwise, at the batting unit. After all, the recent failures against those two opponents would hardly have been easy to forget.

Bangladesh were whitewashed 3-0 by Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi in October 2025, at the same venue where they face Zimbabwe on Saturday. They then lost 2-1 to hosts Zimbabwe in July this year. Sandwiched between those defeats, however, the Tigers -- under previous captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz -- flexed their home-track muscles with four consecutive series wins against the West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia.

But away from the comforts of home, the batting simply crumbled. It was the chief culprit on both tours. Take the Zimbabwe tour in Harare, Bangladesh’s last ODI assignment. In the first match, chasing a meagre 141, the Tigers folded for 116 in 33.1 overs. They essentially hit replay in the second match, skittled out for 234 in 48.1 overs while chasing 247, before finally saving some face with a convincing win in the third.

The Afghanistan series was even more dire. Bangladesh failed to bat out their full 50 overs in any of the three matches and were bowled out for 109 and 93 in the final two ODIs, losing the last by 200 runs. It was hardly the sort of batting record that inspires confidence ahead of another trip to Abu Dhabi.

“Senior players must take responsibility. As a batting unit, we have to address the issue you mentioned, that we have not been able to bat out 50 overs. We failed to do that in Afghanistan, and we also struggled against Zimbabwe. So, all of us in the batting order, from the top down to numbers six and seven, must take responsibility and ensure we finish the game,” Litton said.

“Our options are quite limited because, most of the time, we play with only six specialist batters. If the lower order cannot contribute enough with the bat, the innings can stall. That can also put extra pressure on the batters. We are trying to figure out how to overcome this problem,” he added, explaining Bangladesh’s struggles while chasing big targets.

The irony, of course, is that Litton himself has long been a bewildering piece of this batting puzzle. The 32-year-old has a strong reputation for blowing hot and cold in white-ball cricket, though his ODI numbers in 2026 offer some encouragement: 300 runs in nine innings at an average of 42.86, including two half-centuries, finally leaving behind a horrid rut that saw him score a total of six runs in six ODIs across a dismal 2024 and 2025.

He walked into the recent one-off Test against Afghanistan carrying the heavy baggage of four ducks and a single-digit score across all formats, along with a disastrous stint leading Bangladesh’s T20I side at the Asian Games, where the Tigers failed to secure a medal. He then promptly snapped out of it with knocks of 53 and 102 in the Test.

Bangladesh have batting depth on paper, but there is the perennial struggle with consistency. Tanzid Tamim and Soumya Sarkar are expected to open, with Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy and Litton forming the middle order. Mosaddek Hossain and Mehidy are expected to strengthen the lower order. The bowling, meanwhile, has not attracted the same level of concern and could instead be considered a strength.

Zimbabwe, for their part, are also looking to recover from a difficult ODI series, having lost 3-0 to world champions Australia last month. They did push Australia to the brink in the third match, however, losing by just one wicket. Zimbabwe's series loss perhaps offers Bangladesh an opportunity, but hardly a guarantee. The Tigers will be playing in a familiar ground, having have won two of their six ODIs at the Abu Dhabi venue, while the contest will be Zimbabwe’s first ODI at the venue. 

Bangladesh's recent batting record does not quite inspire confidence, and while playing "good cricket", as Litton put it, may be the plan, turning that promise into a complete batting performance would be a good place to start.