After sealing the T20I series with a game to spare, Bangladesh made wholesale changes in the third match and were thrashed by 74 runs. Captain Litton Das explained the reasoning behind the decisions and addressed concerns over workload management and team preparation.
With the series already in the bag following wins in the first two T20Is, Bangladesh made five changes to their playing XI for the final match against Pakistan on 24 july in Mirpur. The gamble backfired as the hosts were handed a 74-run thrashing.
However, captain Litton Das was quick to defend the decision to rest key players like Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and Rishad Hossain. He also clarified that Towhid Hridoy was ruled out due to fever on the morning of the match; otherwise, there would have been only four changes.
“If Hridoy was fit, he would have played. But when you’re preparing for a big tournament like the Asia Cup, you need to know what options you have in case of injuries. That was our plan to try everyone and assess bench strength.”
Litton stressed that the management wanted to use this series as a final opportunity to test their squad depth ahead of the Asia Cup, which was recently postponed by India to next year. With limited international fixtures before the World Cup, the team viewed this as a rare window to experiment.
Bangladesh’s decision to bowl first backfired as Pakistan posted 178 for 7, with Taskin playing in the previous matches missing from the lineup. Litton justified the move, highlighting the need to manage pacers’ workloads carefully.
“Taskin returned recently from injury. If he plays continuously, there’s a high risk of breakdown. The same goes for Shariful, who had a groin issue during the series. You can’t push fast bowlers beyond their limit. You have to be selective and strategic about when they play.”
He added that with Mohammad Saifuddin, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed and Nahid Rana also in the mix, it is important to give everyone a chance while protecting the team’s frontline pacers.
“We have very few fast bowlers who can consistently perform at this level. If we lose any of them to injury, our plans will collapse. So yes, rotation is necessary not just for fairness but for survival.”
Litton also praised the Mirpur pitch, despite criticism from the Pakistan camp throughout the series.
“I thought today’s wicket was better than the first two. It was a proper batting surface. When we saw 180 as the target, we thought we could chase it. But we lost too many early wickets and couldn’t recover.”
Bangladesh were bowled out for just 104, crumbling under pressure while chasing a steep total. Still, Litton remained positive, pointing out that most of the first-choice players had already delivered in the earlier matches.
He also dismissed fears of a repeat of 2021, when Bangladesh beat Australia and New Zealand at home but failed at the T20 World Cup months later.
“We’re not overconfident. This time the goal was to assess everyone, not just win 3–0″.