Bangladesh’s 2025 started on a disappointing note in T20 cricket, marked by repeated failures and the agony of defeats. After losing to a comparatively weaker United Arab Emirates side, the recent tour of Pakistan also ended in frustration. However, amid the growing darkness, a ray of light emerged from the Sri Lanka series, where Liton Das’s team returned home with a 2-1 series victory—leaving behind a bright memory. But the captain is unwilling to dwell too much on that success.
Starting today, Bangladesh face Pakistan in another three-match T20 series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. The first match kicks off at 6 PM. Speaking ahead of the game, Liton made it clear: the gains from the Sri Lanka tour are now in the past—this is a new challenge against Pakistan at home.
Bangladesh returned from Sri Lanka last Thursday and trained under the floodlights yesterday evening in preparation for the Pakistan series. Before the session, captain Liton Das attended the pre-match press conference, where he expressed hope of continuing their winning momentum in the T20 format.
He said, “There will never be a lack of effort to win the series. Whether it’s two series or several back-to-back ones, our mindset and goal will remain the same—to win the series. But as I said specifically about the match, we have to play good cricket. What happened in Sri Lanka two days ago is now the past. This is a new venue, a new place, so everything must be taken anew, where new challenges will arise. And we are ready to take on that challenge.”
Liton further added, “Right now, we have the best available team. Of course, there are many good cricketers in Bangladesh playing in domestic cricket. If needed, they can definitely come into this team. But decisions will be made based on conditions by the management—on a particular day, under specific conditions, we’ll decide (whether to stick with the same XI or test our bench strength). We have a strong bench, with players capable of performing. We will decide the right time and try to utilize them accordingly.”
