Litton: 'Playing Asian Games is a rare occurence'

Bangladesh won the competition in Guangzhou in 2010, which is the country's only gold medal in the Asian Games. They won bronze medals in 2014 and 2023. In the women's cricket competition, they have won the silver twice, and bronze once.

Litton, like all of Bangladesh's frontline stars, missed out on the last Asian Games appearance as it clashed with the 50-over World Cup in 2023.

Litton said that he wants the team to leave a mark in the competition, so that they understand what is needed to be done at the Olympics level too, in 2028.

"Everyone wants to contribute for their country," he said. "We are able to do it through cricket. We will definitely face some challenges, but we are focused on doing well in the matches. We want to reach the Asian Games final, which will give us a shot at a place in the Olympics, which will ultimately help the rest of the sports in this country."

Bangladesh's real concern, however, is in the lack of T20Is they have played this year. They have won only three out of the eight completed matches in 2026, in bilateral series against New Zealand, Australia and Zimbabwe. Their last assignment was the T20I series against Zimbabwe in July, which they won 2-1.

Litton believes that the training camp in Dhaka, where they also played two practice matches, as well as the increasing presence of Bangladesh cricketers in T20 franchise leagues, will help the team in multi-team competitions.

"I think the more Bangladesh players take part in these leagues, the better it will be for our overall game," he said. "People used to know about Bangladesh when Shakib [Al Hasan] bhai or Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman] played in the franchise circuit. There's always more opportunity for other players when one or two players are playing in the franchise circuit."

Litton further said that Bangladesh will look to give Yasir Ali more time to establish himself in the batting order as they look to shore up their lower-middle order in T20Is.

"We are focused on finding better options in the lower order of our line-up," Litton said. "At the moment, Rabbi [Yasir] has returned to the side. He has done well in Zimbabwe. Bangladesh generally has three or four options to bat in the lower-middle order. We will look at all our options, and play the most suitable batter."

Litton said he will also use the Asian Games to find out more about how top athletes from other sports and disciplines go about their business.

"I have always found it interesting to watch other sports, since I have been a BKSP [Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan, the national sports institute] student. I think if we get the time, we will definitely catch up on the rest of the games. I think there will be a lot to learn from other sports personalities. We can talk to athletes from various countries."

Meanwhile, allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin has been ruled out of the Asian Games because of a hamstring injury. Bangladesh have handed 29-year-old mystery spinner Aliss Al Islam a maiden T20I call-up in his place.