Tigers End Year with Fifth T20I Series Win, Das Praises Team’s Maturity and Fielding Gains
CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh: Following a comprehensive series victory over Ireland, Bangladesh captain Litton Das declared that the current core group of players is “almost ready” for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh clinched the three-match series against Ireland 2-1 on Tuesday after recovering from a loss in the opening fixture to win the subsequent two games in commanding fashion. This was the Tigers’ fifth T20I series triumph this year, building on consecutive victories over Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Netherlands, and Afghanistan. Having played a leading 30 T20Is this year, Das stated this volume has led to greater maturity.
Das expressed particular satisfaction with the team’s ability to recover from the pressure of losing the first game. “I wanted the team to win from pressure situations… we fought back to win the series,” he said at the post-match presentation.
He highlighted improvement in a historically weak area for the side: fielding. “We are not a good fielding unit, but we took some brilliant catches in this series,” he noted. “At least in the fielding department, we have shown improvement.”
To test the team’s readiness, Das revealed they conducted extensive “experiments” during the Ireland series. This included a notable change in the decisive third T20I, where pace spearhead Mustafizur Rahman was held back from bowling the final over, with Mohammad Saifuddin being given the responsibility instead.
“We have conducted a lot of experiments… I think we tried almost everything in every aspect of the team. This bunch of players are almost ready for the next World Cup,” Das asserted.
Looking ahead, the wicketkeeper-batter stressed that his primary concern is player welfare, not individual performance, urging the players to remain safe for the next two months as they participate in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
