Bangladesh sweat on Liton’s fitness ahead of must-win Pakistan clash
Liton was at the ground long before most of his teammates yesterday, walking around the wicket, even giving it a close look. For a while it seemed he might play.
Bangladesh will spend the day waiting on Liton Das. The captain, who sat out Wednesday's defeat to India with a rib injury, remains uncertain for tonight's virtual semifinal against Pakistan in Dubai.
Liton was at the ground long before most of his teammates yesterday, walking around the wicket, even giving it a close look. For a while it seemed he might play.
But he never joined the warm-up, and by toss time Jaker Ali was handed the captaincy. It was his first match in charge of the national side.
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"We waited till the end," Jaker said after Bangladesh's 41-run loss. "He's in rehab now, and we'll wait again until right before the match against Pakistan."
The injury came two days ago during practice, when Liton felt discomfort in his rib while batting. Cricket operations chief Nazmul Abedeen tried to strike an optimistic note: "He is under observation. Hopefully we'll hear good news."
Bangladesh badly missed his calm presence at the top. Their bowlers did well to rein in India after a chaotic powerplay — 72 runs in the first six overs — but the chase never got going.
Saif Hassan fought alone with a fluent 69 off 51 balls. No one else passed 21. By the 20th over, the scoreboard read 127 all out.
That left India through to the final, while Bangladesh now face a simple equation: beat Pakistan or go home.
The turnaround is brutal — less than 24 hours between games — and the management also has to weigh up the four changes made yesterday.
Taskin Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan and Shoriful Islam were all left out, with Parvez Hossain, Tanzim Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin drafted in.
Jaker explained it as "a mix of combination and rest," though the result only deepened the questions.
Whether Liton plays or not may decide more than just the batting order. His leadership has been central to Bangladesh's progress in the tournament, even if his own runs have been scarce.Pakistan, coming in fresher, will sense their chance. For Bangladesh, it's win or bust — and they'll hope their captain is fit enough to walk out with them when the first ball is bowled tonight.
