Bangladesh captain Litton Das has ruled out resigning from the captaincy despite the team’s Asian Games campaign ending without a medal after defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Asked after Saturday’s 63-run loss to Sri Lanka whether he felt responsible for the team’s failure and wanted to resign, Litton dismissed the possibility.
“My performance was not up to the mark. I could not perform well in either of the two matches. No, I don’t want to resign. There are ups and downs in cricket. One day things will go well and another day they will not. There is no reason to resign,” Litton said.
Litton managed just two runs in Bangladesh’s two matches at the Games, scoring two in the semifinal against Pakistan before being dismissed for a golden duck against Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh had arrived in Japan targeting the gold medal but lost to Pakistan in the semifinal before suffering a 63-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the bronze-medal match.
Reflecting on the defeat to Sri Lanka, Litton admitted Bangladesh failed to make the most of their chances.
“It feels very bad. We came here with a very big target. When we could not achieve that, there was another opportunity. We missed that opportunity as well. We had the opportunity, but we could not play good cricket, and that is why we missed it.”
Bangladesh reduced Sri Lanka to 54 for five before Sahan Arachchige and Tharindu Rathnayake put on 93 for the sixth wicket. Rathnayake smashed 65 off 32 balls as Sri Lanka posted 165 for nine.
“We did not play good cricket. I thought we bowled very well in the first eight overs. Then you saw how one batter came in and played those kinds of shots on this wicket, which was very difficult. But he batted extraordinarily, and our bowlers had no clue how to make a comeback from there,” Litton said.
“Credit has to go to him for playing such an extraordinary innings. When we went in to bat, we could not cover it up at all. With the bat, we were not up to the mark today.”
Bangladesh were bowled out for 102 in 17.3 overs, returning from the Asian Games without a medal for the first time.
