I failed to fulfill my expectations - Liton

|| CF Correspondent ||

Liton Kumar Das suddenly started hogging the spot light, thanks to his brilliant innings against West Indies that helped them earn a crucial win against West Indies. Coming into number five he adapted beautifully in the middle-order to seize the opportunity provided by the team management. Still, Liton is haunted not to contribute on a regular basis at the international level. Liton speaks to Cricfrenzy about his preparation and so on.

You are regarded as one of the most talented batsmen of your generation. Do you feel that you have done justice to your talent?

Liton: Firstly I came to know it from you that I am considered to be one of the most talented batsmen of my generation because this is something I was not aware of, to be honest. I am not extremely media savvy and perhaps that is the sole reason behind my ignorance about my potential. Honestly speaking I don’t believe it because there are so many good cricketers around whom I consider to be extremely talented. Secondly like everyone else even I am well aware that I failed to perform according to my ability at the international level.

But no one doubts about your potential as a cricketer and you had already shown glimpses of your ability in some of your innings.

I don’t think there is much value of any potential unless you can translate your potential in the middle and earn the desired result on regular basis and more than potential scoring runs on a regular basis is the key.

 Where are making the mistake then?

I am still searching for that answer. The only thing that I am focusing on maintaining the same batting process that had got me so far. When you are not making runs naturally uncertainty creeps your mind and you began to doubt your own game. At least for me, that is not the case yet and I firmly believe it will eventually pay me off despite not being so successful yet.

Still, you must have made some assessment about your batting

To be honest my only goal is to survive the opening 10 overs when I go to bat. Somehow I am failing to survive that long because if any batsman can successfully cross the initial storm batting become much easier for him.

How are you preparing for the upcoming World Cup?

I don’t know how to explain about my preparation. We all know we cannot prepare in a similar condition that is expected to be available during the World Cup. I think my preparation started from the tour of Ireland as we got to a condition that is close to the one that we are expecting in England. if I can adapt to the condition quickly and take the most out of the practice game that would be ideal for me before the tri-nation and World Cup.

You first came into prominence ahead of the 2015 World Cup but failed to make the cut at the end. Now after four years you are expected to be leading the batting unit of Bangladesh. Do you feel that you are much more prepared to take up the challenge of performing in the big stage?

Firstly I was not thinking anything in 2015 as far as featuring in the World Cup is concerned because till that time I hardly had any taste of international cricket. Now you can say that I am much more equipped because during the time frame I had the opportunity of playing a few international matches couple of series and few highly contested tournaments.

Can you explain your role at the top because there are several instances where you went out while trying to take chances to accelerate the run-rate? I am asking it because we all know Tamim Iqbal will play the sheet anchor role so does that imply his partners are expected to take the initial risk.

I think it is true that everyone has a particular role in the team but that is not the end of it because how you will respond depends on the basis of the match situation. If we are chasing over 350 runs than certainly, I have to charge from the very beginning but if the condition is conducive for the bowlers than naturally, it will change because I will try surviving initially before starting playing my shots.

But don’t you think your need to bat more aggressively so that Tamim batting method is not disturbed and it would have been a different case if he was batting more aggressively like the way he used to bat earlier.

I don’t think so because I always batted with an aggressive mindset. To be honest when you are not scoring runs you can make these kinds of excuses but I am not that kind of a guy. I always have this gut feeling that I will score come what may perhaps it is just that I am not scoring now. 

Are you ready to bat down the order?

I never batted down the order[ in the recent past] but if that is the need I have to adapt to it and take preparation so that I can make the most out of it.

How did you enjoy your batting in the middle-order?

Honestly speaking I was nervous. Only after scoring 30 runs [I was bit relaxed] because initially, I was in a lot of pressure. I felt everything was against me. But after I scored 30 runs then I realized that I have adjusted with the wicket very well and I will be able to play as I want to play. I felt comfortable after scoring 30 runs.

Can you tell why you were nervous?  

The thing is that I have played in Ireland a long time ago, and then today I played a match. When you will stay out of the match for a long time you won’t realize the match feeling. I think at first I was very nervous because I was out of the game for a long time, playing in a match is different, fielding and supporting your team is another thing. i was behind in that regard. Playing against West Indies was important because I think when you play a match your nervousness goes away and these things will help me a lot I think in the coming days. 

You scored a brilliant hundred against India. Do you feel it had only increased expectations?

More than anyone else expectation the foremost thing for me is to fulfill my expectations and I am extremely sorry to say I just could not meet up my expectations to a certain extent. Yes, that hundred gave me a lot of confidence but at the same time, it is all about execution because no matter how confident you are unless you can execute it won’t benefit you in the middle. But I can say that as I managed to score against one of the best bowling attacks of the world certainly I have it in me to do well against any opponent.   

Tell us something about how you started playing cricket.

I got admitted to BKSP in 2008 but it was not a very easy decision for my family. I am very close to my mother and most of the time in my childhood my days were passed through getting scolded by my mother for playing cricket at my home town.  I was the youngest son of my family but when I insisted to join BKSP she eventually agreed and that opened the door for me to continue my career as a cricketer.

You were an opener from the beginning

No, I used to bat at five or six in the team. One day my coach Montu Dutta said unless you bat at the top how can you become a good batsman? Probably that is the turning point of my career.

You seemed to be extremely introvert

Probably I am extremely introverted with people whom I am not very close. But I am sure all of you will be surprised to see me when I am having fun with my school friends from BKSP.

What are you dreaming about the World Cup?

I always want to make a contribution in the global event and I wanted to play so well in this World Cup that it turns out to be a turning point of my career.