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Liton Das thinks it is high time to take the responsibility of the team as a senior player. He also believes that it is time to forget about the Pakistan series and concentrate solely on the upcoming India tour.

In terms of average, the wicketkeeper-batter has had his greatest series to date. He scored 194 runs in just two innings.

One of those innings was of 138 runs in the first innings of the second Test in Rawalpindi that rescued Bangladesh from a precarious position of 26-6. The innings also later earned him the player of the match. 

But the 29 year old doesn’t want to ponder over what has happened in the past.

‘It is obviously important [to forget about the Pakistan series]. You [media] could also help. If you don’t talk much about the Pakistan series, that’d be helpful,’ Liton told reporters in Mirpur on Tuesday.

‘The upcoming series [against India] is a big one. To move forward as a player, it [the Pakistan series] has gone past. You know India is a big team. The ball [which will be used in the Tests—SG] is going to be different. We don’t play with this regularly. It will be challenging. Our players are working hard. Let’s see what happens. 

‘But I don’t think that there is pressure. Yes, we are playing well in Tests. The consistency should be carried forward. It’s a huge challenge for any player. And if you play well, then obviously you’ll get admiration.’ 

Liton made his debut in the Fatullah Test against India back in 2015 after scoring plenty of runs in the domestic circuit.

With his wide range of shots and eye-catching strokeplay, he was regarded as the next great thing in Bangladesh cricket.  It’s debatable whether he’s consistently demonstrated his full talent, but Liton believes it’s time to take the next step.

‘I’ve been playing [international] cricket for almost nine to 10 years’, said Liton.

‘I’ve had that experience. It is time to take the responsibility. If I don’t take up the responsibility now, then when [will I]?

‘I’m saying that the time has come to take up the responsibility, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve got to do it in every match. I’m human, I can make mistakes.’ 

Liton had been struggling with the bat before the T20 world cup. During that time, he went for 28 innings across the formats without scoring any fifty.

After being asked what he had done in that tough period, Liton jokingly said that he had cried all day long. 

But on a serious note, he said, ‘I only thought about myself—how to work hard to do better. The fact being, not every player will play consistently well. But when the bad time comes, that player always tries to do better. I’ve only one way ahead of me—that is to practice. I’ve tried to work hard and thought about how to implement this in the match.’ 

Liton also stated that the position (generally at six or seven) he plays demands attacking batting. He said, ‘I try to score when I see a ball in my scoring zone. You’ll see that everybody nowadays prioritises scoring runs in any format. 

‘When you play run-a-ball, there’ll be a flow. Naturally, in test cricket, you’ll have an attacking field set. So there will be more risk of getting out as well as scoring runs. And [in the position I bat], if I don’t play shots, the scorecard won’t be ticking. I’ll be stuck.’