The veteran Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin revealed earlier this week that before the Day 4 of the second Test against Bangladesh, he had a long conversation with Bangladesh batter Litton Das. The duo got to mingle near the swimming pool with other players from both sides also present, and Ashwin revealed he told Litton that he thought that the latter can reach the levels of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, and Steve Smith when he saw him playing for Bangladesh for the first time.
Revealing his conversation with Litton Das, R Ashwin recalled, “I told Litton Das that I saw him during his Test debut. I saw his style of play and thought here is a pathbreaker to take Bangladesh cricket forward. I told him ‘I have a small disappointment. I thought you will reach the level of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson’.”
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The Bangladesh batter has now revealed what he told the India off-spinner.
As per the quotes in Sportstar, Litton Das said, “I had a conversation with Ash bhai in the swimming pool during the second Test in Mirpur. He told me that when he saw me for the first time in 2015, he thought that I could reach the levels of all those players you mentioned. But I told him that things were different back then. I was young and the more you play cricket at the highest level, the more you grow.”
He further added, “Secondly, we don’t play away series too often. Though we have played against New Zealand, we have not played a bilateral series in Australia, we don’t play too often in South Africa or in India or Pakistan. So, if you don’t play against top four-five teams on a regular basis, you won’t be able to grow as a cricketer.”
The Bangladesh batter further added that Team India gets significant exposure in international cricket as well as the IPL, which help the players to row.
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Litton Das Elaborated, “That’s what I told Ash bhai. The Indian team plays regular cricket against Australia, England, New Zealand, so the players benefit. Even during the IPL, the Indian players get an opportunity to play with these cricketers and when you play with top-level cricketers regularly, then you get to learn a lot.”
