‘I want our players to be challenged’

Bangladesh captain Litton Das hoped that his players would get challenged by the West Indies in the upcoming three-match T20I series in Chattogram as it would help them prepare for next year's ICC T20 World Cup, starting in February in Sri Lanka and India.

The Tigers only have two T20I series in their schedule before the showpiece event, one against the Caribbean set to begin at the Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium on Tuesday, followed by a three-match series at home against Ireland next month.

Litton, who returns to the side after missing two crucial games in the Asia Cup and the series against Afghanistan owing to injury, said he wanted his players to be put under pressure in both series.

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Honestly speaking, I want our players to be challenged in the two series. It can be in bowling or batting," he told reporters in the pre-match press conference on Monday.

"I want the bowlers to be under pressure when bowling, it would help us in the upcoming World Cup," he added.

The wicketkeeper-batter was also excited to return to competitive cricket after recovering from injury.

"First of all, as a player it hurts when you don't get to play games. Not just the Asia Cup, I also watched the Afghanistan series from home. It hurt me, as I was in good form, was performing pretty well, and leading the team. To watch the team play from home was painful.

"At the same time, you have to accept that sometimes things won't be in your hands, especially an injury, which can happen at any time."

The board is searching who will lead the side in Test after Najmul Hossain Shanto stepped down from the role.

Litton is a probable candidate as he has led in the red-ball format before on a stand-by basis and is the current T20I skipper.

But he claimed he hasn't been approached for the job yet.

"Till now, I know nothing about it. If they feel that I'm worthy, of course, they will converse with me. Let's see what they ultimately decide. As a cricketer, getting Test captaincy is a huge deal. I don't think anyone would refuse it. But I have not been contacted about it till now."