The evolution of Liton Das 2.0

by Atif Azam • Last updated on Sat, May 23, 2020, 06:21 PM

Bangladesh's batting consultant Neil McKenzie has been influential in reshaping Liton's fortunes © BCB

Something changed about Liton Das during the Ireland series leading up to the 2019 World Cup. He was suddenly more consistent, something he hadn't been able to achieve for all his flamboyance.

Liton's maiden hundred against India in the 2018 Asia Cup final had given an indication that he had finally arrived at the big stage but it soon faded away, and to the extent that Liton wasn't even sure of a World Cup berth.

"When I started my journey in Ireland, I did not know whether I would be playing in the World Cup or even in the Ireland series for that matter but one thing I made sure was to practice more than before," Liton told Cricbuzz. "I used to be happy after completing the practice session, believing yes, I'm fine. But I decided I will not bat less. From then on, whenever I saw the nets empty I started batting again. I used to request the coach to let me bat after everyone is done with the nets.

"From there, I started to see changes in me, in my fitness and batting. Especially after seeing Shakib Bhai whose fitness was so good during the World Cup. I was more determined towards my fitness after that and it probably played a part in my performance.".

Practising more than what was assigned wasn't the only thing Liton changed about himself. What was needed was a fresh outlook towards his cricket, and he was lucky to have help along the way.

"Earlier I used to think a lot about luck. Basically in cricket luck is a must but now I feel that one can change his luck by practicing. I used to believe that luck is not supporting me, what else can I do. Now, I think that if I had practiced more two years ago then the chance of being successful would have been higher," Liton said.

Chandika Hathurusingha, the former Bangladesh head coach, had once boldly admitted how he wasn't disappointed in Liton who was failing at big scores at the time. Every flower doesn't bloom together, he had said, pointing his fingers towards some of Liton's teammates who had shown more promise despite having less calibre.

Liton, until the tour of Ireland in May 2019, had played 27 ODIs and scored 508 runs at an average of 19.54 and a strike rate of 79.75. And he knew very well that his back was against the wall. The presence of Neil McKenzie, Bangladesh's white-ball batting consultant, surely helped.

"My first acquaintance with Neil is probably from that Ireland tour. He liked my batting and always tried to talk to me. He and our main coach always told me that I have the potential in me and I can score runs any moment, I can play any kind of shot. Neil pointed out how when I batted in the net for say 20 minutes, I used to bat very attentively for the first 5-10 minutes and didn't in the last 10.

"When I batted, Neil used to stand behind me and told me to play late. At first, I was having some problems adapting, as I used to play cricket in one style and now learning a new thing was difficult. But I started to feel better when I applied those things. Before I used to play early and lose control, but now I have the control on the ball, like I can hit the ball wherever I want to, I could get time to play the ball."

Playing late and being attentive - the two McKenzie lessons, brought rewards for Liton, who went on to score 571 runs in nine matches averaging 81.6 with a strike-rate of 115.2. In between he played consistently well in the last edition of Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League and scored two murderous centuries against Zimbabwe that includes his record breaking highest ODI score for his country.

Liton also thanked former spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi, who is currently the Indian chief selector, for making him understand the importance of his wicket and though Liton failed to deliver initially he still remembers his words of wisdom.

"I had some conversation about this thing with Sunil Joshi and he once told me that the next time you are going to play in the domestic circuit, try to bat at least for 35-40 overs. You will then have a practice of not getting out and will also be able to bat for a long time. Then you will understand what is your game, how to play in which situation," Liton said.

"His words always remained in my head. Though he was a bowler but he bowled against big batsmen, sometimes he gave me examples of Tendulkar also. He told me a few things like how to play spin bowling on slow wickets and on fast wickets."

Liton admitted that he was a little late to understand that he's allowed to be different. "I can't play like Afridi. I depend on timing and Afridi depends on force. I was a little late to understand it. Everyone used to say that I'm a timing-based player. Until one realizes himself, he cannot understand his own mistakes. Now I understand that by applying force I can't do things."

McKenzie, who in a way kick-started the transformation for Liton, said he's pleased with what he's seeing now. "I think we all know that Liton Das is a very talented cricketer. I think with talent comes frustration because we all know how good he can be," McKenzie said. "And he was getting good starts, a lot of 20s and 30s looking like a world-class player. But world-class players don't get 20s and 30s. So, like everything in life with a bit of maturity, he started to understand his game plan a lot better, he understands what the team needs from him, he understands his strengths and weaknesses and he understands that he definitely wants to play a certain brand of cricket. He doesn't want to go into his shell, he still wants to be positive.

"But there's a method to play positive, obviously, and it starts with a good technique, being in good positions. And I think that's something that we sort of spoke about when I first got in the Bangladesh setup. That he can play his attacking shot but he can be very solid in defence in the same innings. So I think he's gone away, he has done all the homework and credit to him, he's come back really well and I think he had a great last series.

"With regards to playing late obviously if you see the best players in the world like Kane Williamson or AB De Villiers, Virat Kohli you just see how late they play the ball. Everything happened under the eyes, you know that's the key to the game, playing the ball nice and late and then just being in a consistent position."

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The evolution of Liton Das 2.0

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