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Coach Simmons blames Litton Das absence to justify Bangladesh’s Asia Cup exit

Kaushik Kashyap

Litton Das. [Source - @LittonOfficial/x.com]Litton Das. [Source - @LittonOfficial/x.com]

Bangladesh’s campaign in the Asia Cup Super 4 took a major hit after a disastrous batting collapse against Pakistan on Thursday, where they failed to chase a modest target of 136 and went down by 11 runs. The defeat has not only raised serious concerns about their temperament under pressure but has also ended their hopes of making the final of Asia Cup 2025.

Chasing what appeared to be a straightforward total, Bangladesh never looked in control right from the opening over. Shaheen Afridi made an immediate impact with the new ball, dismissing two of Bangladesh’s top three inside the powerplay.

That early damage left the middle order exposed and from there the team struggled to rebuild, regularly losing wickets and slipping further behind the asking rate. Despite a few resistance in patches, Bangladesh’s chase lacked clarity and courage, eventually falling well short of the target.

Coach cites Litton loss as key setback

After the game, team’s head coach Phil Simmons addressed the defeat against Pakistan and attempted to shift focus towards the absence of captain Litton Das. Litton, who suffered a back strain ahead of the Super 4 clash against India, missed his second consecutive game, and Simmons suggested that his unavailability was a key factor in the team’s struggles.

“Bangladesh chased 160 two games ago with the same batting order. We are not a team that can lose [Tanzid Tamim] and the captain simultaneously and easily replace them. We are not at that stage yet, though we are getting there. But losing our captain, who was in such good form, has been a big issue for us," Simmons said as quoted by The Daily Star.

While the injury absence of an experienced campaigner like Litton was undoubtedly felt, Bangladesh’s batting performance left plenty of questions unanswered. Their inability to handle pressure situations and their repeated collapses in crunch games highlighted a deeper concern than just missing one player.

With two back-to-back defeats in the Super 4 stage, Bangladesh’s campaign has been adversely affected, leaving them out of contention for the final. Pakistan is now set to play arch-rivals India in the summit clash, scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 28th in Dubai.