Liton Das insisted that taking over the captaincy of Rangpur Riders will not add any extra pressure on him, despite his modest form in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
His comments came after Rangpur appointed Liton as captain for the remainder of the tournament, replacing Nurul Hasan Sohan. Sohan voluntarily stepped down from the role to focus on his batting after a lean run of form that saw him score just 30 runs in eight matches.
Liton, the regular Bangladesh T20I captain, had featured only as a batter for Rangpur so far this season. He has scored 162 runs in eight matches, a stat that fall short of his reputation and ability.
"The expectations I have of myself, and the expectations everyone else has, I haven't fully met them yet," Liton told reporters on Friday.
"But there has never been a lack of effort. I will try to overcome that and contribute something good for Rangpur," he added.
Downplaying the added responsibility, Liton said captaincy would not affect his batting approach.
"Whenever I have played as a batsman, I have always tried to give 100 percent," he said.
"I know there will be more responsibility as a captain. But when I bat, I think of myself as a batter first, whose primary job is to score runs."
Despite being tipped as one of the most formidable sides of this BPL, Rangpur are yet to mathematically secure a playoff berth, while three other teams have already qualified.
However, their progression to the knockout stage appears highly likely. Rangpur have won four of their eight matches and currently sit fourth on the points table with eight points. Their nearest challengers, Dhaka Capitals and Noakhali, have each won two of their four matches.
"Cricket is played on the field. On paper, they are just names," Liton said, adding that performance is the only thing that matters most.
"It depends on how successful you are against the opposition on a given day and how smartly you play your cricket. That decides the course of the game." �"BSS
