Bangladesh T20I captain Litton Das defended his decision to bring Mustafizur Rahman back into the attack despite the pacer’s expensive first over in the Asian Games semifinal against Pakistan, saying the left-armer remained his best option in the circumstances.
Mustafizur conceded 18 runs in his first over before returning for another over that cost 23. He did dismiss Saim Ayub in his second over, but finished with 2-0-41 as Pakistan chased down Bangladesh’s 112-run target in 12.4 overs to win by six wickets.
Asked why he went back to Mustafizur after the costly first over, Litton pointed to the pacer’s long record for Bangladesh and the options available to him.
“There were several options. If Mustafizur had taken three wickets today, you would not have asked me this question. He has been doing it for us for so long. I felt Mustafizur was the best option, so I went with him,” Litton said.
The Bangladesh captain also stressed that the decision could have been different had he felt another bowler was better suited to the situation.
“If at any point you feel another option is better, then you can go with that,” he added.
