'The players need rest' - Litton Das expresses concern over crowded calendar after West Indies defeat

Litton Das points to packed calendar for T20I series whitewash (Source: Bangladesh Cricket)

Bangladesh's T20I skipper Litton Dashas highlighted Bangladesh's crowded cricket calendar after their recent T20I series whitewash against West Indies. The tourists won the 20-over leg of the white-ball tour after getting pipped in the ODI series.

Litton remarked how series appeared in back-to-back fashion for Bangladesh and how excluding him, others did not have much of breathing space between the two assignments.

"We had separate fitness and skills camps before the Netherlands series. Then, we beat them at home, before we went to the Asia Cup and Afghanistan series in the UAE, and then we came home for the West Indies ODIs and T20Is. Except for me - I was not in the T20 squad, so I got some time at home - most of these players were playing [continuously]," stated Litton, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The wicketkeeper-batter emphasised the importance of recovery after a long series and felt that the few days in between the conclusion of the West Indies series and the commencement of the series against Ireland will serve as an ideal cooldown period for the players. 

"Sometimes, the players need rest because when you play so much, many things will not go your way. When the players get a break, like now that the T20 series is over, they will get at least ten days of break to restart themselves. Then there is the Ireland series, and before that, there will be practice. I think all the players will recover well and will be able to come back well," she added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh did not have the best of outings with the bat in the T20I series as they could only score 149, 135 and 151 in the three T20Is, respectively. The hosts lost the first two games by 16 runs and 14 runs in the first and second T20I, respectively. Litton could score only 34 runs in three matches at a frugal strike rate of 100.

Bangladesh will next host Ireland for two Tests and three T20Is, with the series scheduled to span from November 11 and December 2. The two teams last collided with each other in the above formats way back in 2023.