Sunil Joshi’s advice key to my resurgence, reveals Liton Das
Bangladesh opener Liton Das, who has had a remarkable last 12 months in international cricket, has revealed that a piece of advice from Sunil Joshi helped him stay calm and take his batting to the next level. Liton further said that he now understands his game better and knows his limitations.
An aggressive batsman who oozes style, class and elegance, inconsistency was the tale of the first half of Liton Das’ ODI career, with the right-hander averaging a hideous 19.53 in his first 27 games in the 50-over format. However, the opener drastically turned his form around two weeks prior to the World Cup, in a tri-series against Ireland and West Indies, and has since averaged a remarkable 81.57 in 9 matches, including his highest individual ODI score in Bangladesh’s ODI history, a 176 against Zimbabwe.
While the 25-year-old credited the role of batting coach Neil McKenzie for his turnaround, the opener also, interestingly, took the name of former Indian spinner and now Indian Chief Selector Sunil Joshi as someone who helped in his resurgence. Liton revealed that Joshi’s advice to focus on batting 35-40 overs in domestic matches helped him grow by leaps and bounds and added that the left-arm spinner’s words have reverberated inside his head, ever since.
"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 told Cricbuzz.
"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."
A cult hero in Bangladesh for his effervescent style of batting, Liton admitted that of late, he has come to understand his game better and has learnt to accept his shortcomings. The 25-year-old opener stated that he now understands that his strength lies in timing the ball and that he is not someone like an Afridi who can blast the ball out of the ground at will.
"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."
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