Bangladesh acting captain Liton Das said that without Rashid Khan they are not taking their Afghanistan counterpart slightly rather considering them significantly in the one-off Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on June 14.
The touring board rested the world-class wrist spinner of red-ball cricket to get him fit for the approaching major competitions like Asia Cup and ICC World Cup.
However, following the absence of the Afghan’s star performer, who claimed 11 wickets in the lone Test against the Tigers back in 2019 in Chattogram, on paper it seems that the game would be easy going at their backyard.
Bangladesh’s acting captain overturned the notion with a loud voice.
‘The seriousness we would have after Rashid’s availability, we would move forward in the same manner despite his exclusion,’ said Liton on Monday at the official press conference in Mirpur.
Still, Liton is considering them a bit of a superior contender in the battle, having played a substantial number of Test games [137] than their counterpart, who played only six games since their inception back in 2018.
Not only that, the long pause of the Afghans in this version of the game could also relieve the home captain, as the former played their last in 2021 against Zimbabwe while Bangladesh encountered the touring Ireland just two months ago at their den.
‘We also had a break. We played our last in April, followed by a white ball game. I feel at some point we are better than them as we have been playing Test since long.’
‘We are also more mature than them, as we used to play ample Test cricket in recent times.’
The Tiger wicketkeeper batsman, who earlier captained Bangladesh in the one-day internationals and T20Is, further affirmed that leading the nation in the Test is a matter of pride to him.
‘This is not something special, yet a good feeling goes back to the mind. Everyone emphasises Test cricket, and being a Test cricketer is a big thing. Moreover, captaining a nation is surely a matter of pride.’
Meanwhile, the country's few media outlets reported that Liton was unwilling to lead the Tigers in the game to concentrate on his batting.
However, the 28-year-old reversed the murmur, adding that, as a vice captain, he also captained for a couple of overs in the past due to the absence of their regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who had gone off the field in an emergency.
‘There was nothing like that [skipping captaincy]. When you were vice-captain, it also happened that Shakib Bhai went off the field for one or two overs, and I had to lead the side.’
