Litton Das is hoping to use the Netherlands series as a preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup © Cricbuzz Litton Das, Bangladesh’s T20I skipper, believes the upcoming T20I series against Netherlands would provide the ideal preparation for his side ahead of the Asia Cup. However, he is hoping Bangladesh would build a habit of notching totals in excess of 200 in T20Is. Litton is aware that despite playing an associate team, he will be under the pressure to deliver in the upcoming three-match T20I series, scheduled to be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from August 30. “In international cricket there is no small team. Bangladesh have lost to different teams earlier- nothing new,” Litton told reporters at Sylhet on Thursday. “If we lose, we lose. What matters is how well we play.” “Abu Dhabi will be batting-friendly, like Sylhet. But to score 200-250, we also need to build a habit,” said Litton. “Conditions there are quite similar to Sylhet. We’ve trained under dew here, so the players know what to expect.” Litton welcomed both Nurul Hasan and Saif Hasan back in the T20I set-up and insisted that the team management are backing the duo with long-term plans in mind “I’m very happy they’re in. Sohan has been consistent for years. Saif’s aggressive mindset is what we needed in the middle order, and he can bowl a bit too. It’s not like they’ll be dropped after one or two matches,” he said. While Bangladesh team’s practice at SICS was called off due to inclement weather it was not the case with the visitors as they had a good net session in the afternoon. Even as Bangladesh are likely to start as favourites, Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards said that his team is confident of clinching the upcoming T20I series, and would take inspiration from their recent performances. Netherlands qualified for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled in India, at the back of impressive performance in the ICC qualifiers where they emerged as champions in the European Group “You always go into every series trying to win. We expect to play good cricket, and if we play well enough, absolutely, we’ve got a chance,” Edward told reporters ahead of the series. “I think the belief in the squad has been growing for a while now. We’ve been playing a lot of high-pressure matches in World Cups and Qualifiers. Recent performances show we’re capable of beating any team on our day,” he said. Edwards added that they are taking the series as preparation for the upcoming ICC T20I World Cup. “It’s a great warm-up for us heading into the World Cup,” said Edwards. “After qualifying for the World Cup, getting match experience in Asia was one of our first goals. Playing three T20s against a strong side like Bangladesh in their home conditions is perfect for our preparation,” he said adding that they are prepared for the challenges as some of their cricketers have the experience of playing in this part of the world, courtesy taking part in the subcontinent. “Obviously (we can overcome the challenges). More often than not, when we play a series like this, you’re probably getting two or three practice matches before the first game,” he said. “Lot of our guys have experienced this before. In the subcontinent, we’ll try to take our experiences there and for the newer guys, they will try and fast forward their preparations.”
