Soumya drafted in as Bangladesh monitor Litton’s fitness

Bangladesh are sweating over the fitness of T20 captain Litton Das ahead of the opening match of the three-match T20I series against Australia, which begins tomorrow at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium in Chattogram.

Litton suffered a muscle strain while batting during the third and final ODI in Mirpur on Sunday and has been under observation since. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday included Soumya Sarkar, who has not played a T20I since December 2024, in the squad as cover.

Ahead of the series opener, Litton attended the pre-match press conference in Chattogram and admitted that his availability would depend on how his recovery progresses before the game. He also revealed that Soumya was drafted in as a backup option, with Parvez Hossain Emon also dealing with a minor illness.

“I am in a better condition than before. However, a decision regarding me will be made based on my condition today and tomorrow,” Litton told reporters on Tuesday.

“The reason for including Soumya was that my fitness situation was uncertain, about 50-50. Besides, Emon has been dealing with a minor illness. So, we needed a backup option to avoid having to call someone in at the last moment,” he said.

Litton believes Bangladesh can carry confidence from their recently concluded 2-1 ODI series win over Australia into the T20Is.

“Playing good cricket against a strong team boosts confidence. We played very good cricket in all three matches of the ODI series, which is a positive sign for us. Although the T20 format and the team are somewhat different, most of our players featured in the ODI series, so that confidence is there among everyone. We will need to play our best cricket on the given day,” he added.

Bangladesh have played 11 T20Is against Australia, winning four and losing seven. All four victories came during the 2021 home series, which they won 4-1 on spin-friendly wickets in Mirpur.

However, Chattogram has traditionally offered more assistance to batters, raising the prospect of more balanced and high-scoring contests in the upcoming series.

Meanwhile, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh, who did not feature in the ODI series, said his side is eager to move on from the disappointment of the ODI defeat and focus on the T20Is.

“The guys are really looking forward to this series. No doubt it’s been a tough tour, but we’re going in with high hopes to hopefully win this series and play some really good cricket,” Marsh said.

The Australian skipper also highlighted the importance of the return of explosive batter Tim David.

“In my opinion, Tim David is one of the best middle-order players in the world. He is experienced, really confident in his ability and we welcome him back into our side. He’s really valuable to us,” Marsh added.

The remaining two matches of the series will be held on June 19 and 21. All three matches are scheduled to begin at 2:00pm Bangladesh time.