Mirpur wicket marred many batting careers, says Litton

Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium has a history of producing slow and low wickets, which often favour spinners. Historically, batters have had to toil hard on this surface due to the traditional nature of the wickets.

Although Twenty20 cricket often provides high-scoring games, the sentiment hasn't been shared by this surface, as teams have previously been bowled out before reaching the 100-run mark on 12 occasions and have only managed to score over 200 in three out of the 63 T20Is played here since 2011.

The average first innings total at this venue is 142, which clearly highlights the struggles batters face here.

The wicket, often termed as a "graveyard" for batters, has received backlash from many quarters, including national cricketers, on several occasions. Ahead of the three-match T20I series opener against Pakistan, the fears resurfaced.

Bangladesh T20I skipper Litton Das, who has also been critical of the surface, seemed unmoved by his stance regarding the wicket in Mirpur but expects a good surface for the forthcoming three-match series, which will be solely hosted by this venue from tomorrow.

"I agree that many players' careers have gone down because of this surface," Litton told reporters in Mirpur on Saturday, on the eve of the opening game. "If I were a bowler, maybe my career would have improved playing here."

"Obviously, the Bangladesh team have developed, as we've won those series here, and that's a big plus. But at the same time, it's been tough for batters. I don't think it will be the same here again. The wicket looks good, and I hope it will be an even game," he added.

Litton claimed that batters particularly suffered in two series back in 2021 against Australia and New Zealand, where Bangladesh won both series but received a lot of criticism for the tailor-made rank-turner wickets.

"First of all, it's not like batters always struggle here. Let me be clear, particularly batters faced difficulties in those two series [in 2021]. Yes, it's challenging. The spinners get turn, but it's not that runs don't come at all. It offers help to pacers," said Litton, who feels the wicket for the Pakistan series will be a sporting one.

"It's a sporting wicket. It's balanced for both teams, not just us. Pakistan have good pacers, quality spinners, and solid batters. We have to play good cricket, and that's our target."