Losing to Netherlands won’t be a setback, claims Litton

Bangladesh Twenty20 International captain Litton Das said that he is not worried about what could happen if his side slips up against Netherlands in the upcoming three-match series so close to the Asia Cup, claiming that the type of cricket the team plays is more important to him than the outcome.

Bangladesh's recent record against Associate sides in T20Is is not too great. They lost 2-1 to the USA in USA in May last year and this year conceded an away series to the UAE by the same margin.

Although the Tiger's record against the Dutch in T20Is is quite good, having won in four out of five encounters, with their only defeat coming in a bilateral series match in Voorburg, Netherlands in 2012.

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Still, a defeat to an Associate side so close to the Asia Cup, which begins on September 9, could mentally set back the players.

But captain Litton downplayed the possible consequences of a defeat.

"First of all, there are no small teams in international cricket. We always play to win and in all the games we play in the near future, we will play to win," Litton told the media in Sylhet today.

"It [losing to Netherlands] is not a risk. Bangladesh have lost to many teams before, it's nothing new. We could lose. Two teams are playing, one will win and the other will lose. The main thing is whether we play good cricket or not," he added.

The Bangladesh skipper also felt the conditions in Sylhet will be good preparation for the eight-team tournament set to the take place in the UAE.

"At the Asia Cup, the teams will be different. We can't bring those teams here. But I feel the conditions will be quite similar. The wickets in Abu Dhabi are batting friendly. In Sylhet too, wickets are mostly batting friendly. There will be a similarity in that sense."

The series opener will take place at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

The next two games of the series will take place on September 1 and 3 respectively.