Published on 12:00 AM, June 16, 2022

Can man-in-form Liton deliver in the Windies?

The last time Bangladesh toured the West Indies, the visitors were bundled out for their lowest-ever total of 43 runs in Antigua, the venue where they will begin their Caribbean mission this time with the first Test.

Bangladesh's poor recent Test record coupled with Mominul Haque's resignation from Test captaincy means that there will be keen eyes on how the visitors perform this time around as Shakib Al Hasan embarks on a new journey as Test captain.

In the absence of the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim, who was in superb form, there will also be extra focus on in-form batter and newly-appointed Test vice-captain Liton Das in the upcoming series.

Bangladesh will also miss middle-order batter Yasir Ali, who was set to replace Mushfiqur in the two-match Test series before being ruled out due to a back injury sustained in the three-day practice match.

Happy with the way the 3-day game went. Some valuable time in the middle for the batters and also the bowlers ;all got some good number of overs under their belts and valuable time in the nets leading into the first Test match.

— Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo

Liton, who has reached new heights following a prolific run with the bat, will be relied upon heavily, especially since he has averaged 54 in his last 10 innings. The 27-year-old, who struck three centuries in the last seven months for Bangladesh, is expected to play a crucial role and take the responsibility as a senior campaigner.

The elegant right-hander has shown great temperament and technique in dealing with quality fast bowlers but, after being hounded by a lack of consistency early in his career, he has only 72 runs to show from four innings in the West Indies.

According to Mohammad Ashraful, it will be important for Liton to continue to enjoy batting. The former Bangladesh captain hoped the right-hander would be able to utilise his form and not take on any extra burden of responsibility after being labelled the future captain of Bangladesh.