It's okay to play without Shakib Al Hasan: Liton Das before 1st T20I vs India
New Delhi: Ahead of the first T20I against India, Bangladesh batsman Liton Das on Thursday said 'it is okay' to play without Shakib Al Hasan.
Shakib Al Hasan was banned from all forms of cricket on Tuesday after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti Corruption Code. The all-rounder also admitted to the charges and agreed to the sanction with the ICC in lieu of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing.
"We are looking forward to the series because anything can happen in cricket. Shakib was injured previously then also we played cricket in Asia Cup, so it is okay," Das told reporters here.
Shakib will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020, provided he satisfies the conditions of the sanction.
"We had a good preparation before coming here. We had a training camp back in Bangladesh and then we also have a couple of days of training here. So it is a good opportunity to adapt. Shakib is the best player in our team and we are going to miss him definitely," Das said.
The team will play three T20Is followed by a two-match Test series. The second Test match between both the teams will be a day-night Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Mahmudullah will lead the team in the shortest format of the game while Mominul Haque will captain the team in the Test series.
"If you look at our team, most of the guys are newcomers in the team. Everybody is looking forward to young guys to play their natural game and contribute to the team," Das said.
"Our concentration at the moment is on this T20I series and we have not started thinking about the day/night Test. We obviously think about it but at the moment the focus is on T20I matches," he added.
Das was wearing a mask during training. When asked if Delhi's pollution was that severe, he replied that he was not feeling well at that time.
"I had some personal problem that's why I was wearing it. I was not feeling well," Das said.
Bangladesh T20I squad includes Mahmudullah (C), Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Afif Hossain, Musaddek Hossain Saikat, Aminul Islam Biplob, Arafat Sunny, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Abu Hider Rony, Al Amin Hossain.
Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly had confirmed that the match in Delhi will go ahead as planned.
When ANI contacted Ganguly to ask whether the match in Delhi would take place, he replied: "Yes, it will".
The first T20I between India and Bangladesh will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on November 3.
