Bangladesh had won two bronze medals at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, but this time both the men’s and women’s teams failed to secure a medal.
Following the defeat to Sri Lanka, captain Litton Das expressed his disappointment with the team’s performance while also highlighting the limited training facilities available to the players during the Games.
However, Litton refused to use the lack of practice facilities as an excuse for the defeat, admitting that Bangladesh simply did not play well.
“We played poor cricket,” Litton said.
Explaining the defeat, Litton felt Bangladesh had made a good start with the ball before Sri Lanka turned the game around through an outstanding individual performance.
“I felt we bowled well for the first eight overs. Then you saw how a batsman came in and played those kinds of shots on a difficult wicket. He batted incredibly well, and our bowlers could not find a way to make a comeback from there. We have to give him credit for playing an outstanding innings,” he said.
Bangladesh also struggled badly in the chase after Sri Lanka posted a challenging total. Litton admitted the batting unit failed to perform at the required level from the outset.
“When we went in to bat, we could not cover the runs they had put on the board in any way. From a batting perspective, we were not up to the mark today,” he said.
The defeat also ended Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the final and left them without even a bronze medal. Litton admitted the result was particularly disappointing as the team had travelled to Japan targeting a place in the final.
“It feels bad not to win the bronze. We came here with the target of playing in the final. When that did not happen, we had another opportunity. We missed that chance as well,” he said.
Litton also addressed questions surrounding Bangladesh players going out for shopping and other activities during the Asian Games. Defending his teammates, he argued that the players needed to leave their rooms because of the lack of adequate arrangements, including food and training options.
“Can a player stay locked inside his room all day? When a player’s food requirements are not being covered here, he has to go outside. If you want to eat, you have to go out. If we had options to train, then we would not have had to go outside,” Litton said.
At the same time, the Bangladesh captain acknowledged that the lack of training facilities was not exclusive to his team. After defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he did not want to use the issue as the sole explanation for Bangladesh’s failure.
His assessment of the campaign remained straightforward: Bangladesh had simply played poor cricket.
Meanwhile, Litton ruled out stepping down as Bangladesh captain despite admitting that his own performances during the Asian Games fell short of expectations.
“My performance was not up to the mark. I played badly in two matches. There are ups and downs in cricket. One day you will do well and another day you will have a bad day. Why would I resign as captain because of this? I am not resigning,” he said.
