The first name for Colombo was always Mahedi: Litton

Bangladesh T20I skipper Litton Kumar Das said on Wednesday that he had decided a long time ago to back Shak Mahedi in Colombo, as he prefers selecting his playing XI based on the surface rather than any other factor.

The move to replace Mehidy Hasan Miraz with Mahedi paid off brilliantly, with the latter grabbing 4 for 11 to help the tourists clinch an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka. In doing so, Bangladesh secured their first-ever series win across formats against Sri Lanka in their own backyard.

"We felt that given the skills of Mahedi, he would be a perfect fit on the Colombo wicket. It doesn't mean he doesn't bowl well on other wickets. I had planned it before seeing the schedule - that whoever plays in Colombo, the first name will be Mahedi," Litton told reporters after their historic win.

"It also doesn't mean that Mehidy is not a good bowler or batter. As a team leader, I will think deeply about the surface before choosing a team. A bowling-friendly surface will always make me pick Mahedi," he said.

"If it is batting-friendly, Miraz will come back into the team," he added.

After losing the Test and ODI series and suffering an embarrassing defeat in the opening T20I, Bangladesh bounced back strongly in the second match. According to Litton, that win changed the entire mood in the dressing room and filled the team with confidence.

"We always try to give our 100 percent in the middle. We train in a way that allows us to give 100 per cent in the middle," said Litton.

"I think winning changes the face of the team. We also won the second game by 83 runs, which is a huge achievement. The whole team had the confidence to win if we played our best cricket," he said.

Litton, who had been struggling with the bat, made two noteworthy contributions in the second and third T20Is. He said he always believed he'd find form again.

"I always had the belief. I never had a shortage of belief in my ten years at this level. I think hunger was a factor. I wasn't scoring runs for a long time. I was looking for an opportunity to grab. It was a plus point in the second T20I.

"I can try hard. I don't sit in the hotel room. I don't miss training sessions. You have to keep trying as a player. You also need blessings from God. I think luck smiled at me in the second T20I. But I keep trying hard on and off the field.

"I worked on my own mostly. There are some people who helped me. It can be motivating too," he said.

Having now led Bangladesh to successive T20I series wins in West Indies and Sri Lanka, Litton acknowledged that their upcoming series against Pakistan would be a tough challenge. He stressed the need to have faith in their players.

"Both series wins are huge for me. Beating West Indies in their backyard is massive. They are a strong team in their conditions. It is the same in Sri Lanka. They are a balanced team too.

"I don't know how the Mirpur wicket is going to behave during the Pakistan series. I think it is raining in Dhaka every day, so the wicket can be difficult for batting in such conditions," he said.

"It won't be easy taking on Pakistan in Mirpur. They have variety in their bowling attack. They also play a lot of BPL, so they know our conditions quite well. I know that we can win matches against them if we play smart cricket," he said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka admitted he misread the wicket in Colombo and opted to bat first, while crediting Mahedi for his outstanding bowling display.

"I misread the pitch a little, which is why I decided to bat first," said Asalanka.

"I think credit goes to Bangladesh, especially their bowlers. Mahedi bowled really well, and they fielded exceptionally. They fought hard, and at the same time, we made too many mistakes. In T20s, you can't afford that because it's the fastest format. If we want to be a good team, we have to minimize our mistakes," he said.

Asalanka added that Sri Lanka were also experimenting with the batting line-up, though he did not want to use that as an excuse.

"I can say a lot about this series, especially after this loss. The team that won the series played really well. As I've said before, we're going to the World Cup, and we're trying out different combinations. We won the T20 World Cup in 2024, but it was a big challenge for us, and we need to think carefully about our combinations," he said.

"In the last World Cup, we didn't have a strong middle order, so we're still testing who fits best. Today, we tried Dinesh Chandimal at No. 4 and made some adjustments at No. 6, but we're still looking for the right balance. There are some limitations we need to address quickly," he said.

"No, that's not what I meant (about using experimentation as an excuse). We still have to play to win every match while we experiment, and we will continue to do that," he concluded.