Das is class: Liton finally fulfilling early promise of being Bangladesh's best batter

Despite an innings defeat within three days in the 2nd Test at Christchurch, Bangladesh finished their most successful tour of New Zealand with the Test series shared 1-1.

In what can be called Bangladesh's greatest success in their cricket history - the 1st Test win against New Zealand - to what was more or less a resumption of normal service in the 2nd game, the Tigers have found a Liton Das living up to his billing of being one of the best batters in the country. 

In the latest ICC cricket rankings for Test batters, Liton has jumped up to a career-best ranking of 15 and is the best ranked Bangladesh batter. 

And in all honesty, he has looked the best batter in the Bangladesh batting lineup, even with the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim and at times Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal in it. 

The numbers don't lie either, as he has scored the most runs among Bangladeshi batters in Tests since 2021. 

In the 1st Test, Liton's innings of 86 helped give his captain Mominul Haque confidence to bat well with him and it helped tilt the momentum of a slow innings Bangladesh's way.

In the 2nd Test, in a more pacy wicket with more bounce, Liton continued to show his class by scoring with ease and playing a near-flawless innings to get his 2nd ton in Test cricket. 

He dominated every bowler he faced against one of the best pace bowling units in world cricket. 

The 61st over where he hit Trent Boult for four boundaries with ease will remain in the minds of fans for long.

It was total dominance against a bowler who had just taken a fifer in the previous innings. 

Former ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza had always spoken very highly of the right-handed batter and called him one of the toughest batters he ever bowled against. 

And those words had rung true throughout Liton's career, where he looked to have all the shots, and looked comfortable against even the best bowlers, but found ways to get himself out.

Liton himself admitted to those dismissals being in two minds as to what shot to play to a particular delivery.

It's a case of having too many options and almost too much talent at times. 

There is not a single shot that Liton plays, which doesn't ooze class - from the cover drive to the cut to the leg glance and the pull - he has it all in his repertoire. 

What has changed in recent times, especially in Test cricket, is more clarity of thought. 

In red-ball cricket, there is at most times no pressure to score quick runs. 

You can pace yourself and almost play each ball to its merit without the pressure of having to score off of it. 

That has clearly helped Liton as his batting averaged has been 49.5 in the last year and 65.33 so far this year. 

After what was a very disappointing T20 World Cup campaign for the wicketkeeper-batter, chances are his spot in the T20I side will not be a guarantee. 

In ODIs, he seems to have fared better and should be counted on as one of the main batters for the team, leading into the World Cup. 

What lies ahead?

It's safe to say that Liton has looked and batted like the best batter for Bangladesh in Tests and the numbers have also backed it up. 

But those runs have mostly been scored batting at number five and six.

One has to wonder, with the top order being a regular cause of concern, should Liton be shifted further up and given the responsibility of handling the new ball. 

He has the technique for it for sure and is an opener by trade, although he averages just 13.5 when he's faced the first ball opening and 18 when he's opened but been in the non-strikers' end. 

Then there is the question of whether Liton should continue with the gloves in Tests or just be tasked with batting and give the wicketkeeping duties to the country's best keeper in Nurul Hasan Sohan.

Sohan batted well in both innings in the 2nd Test against the Kiwis as he came in for the injured Mushfiqur Rahim. 

General cricketing logic dictates that you should give the gloves to your best natural keeper and have your best openers open, especially in Tests. 

The prospect of Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das opening in Tests, as they do in ODIs, seems a tantalising one, especially if both players click and play their naturally beautiful game.   

Liton is currently 27 years old and should be entering his prime years as a batter for the next 3-4 years. 

His Test average has improved to the mid 30s but one feels, given his talent, he could take it closer to his first-class average of 48.85. 

Bangladesh's next international assignment is in March against South Africa in South Africa, arguably a tougher place to visit than New Zealand. 

No one is expecting Bangladesh to win any of the two Tests they will play but they can certainly challenge an inexperienced Proteas unit, especially if the Tigers play the way they did in the 1st Test against New Zealand.

But for that to happen, the team management needs to ensure they keep on getting the best out of Liton. 

An in-form and firing Liton is not only good for Bangladesh cricket, but for cricket overall.

He is the most exciting batting prospect Bangladesh have had since Mohammad Ashraful.

On his day, despite his poor stats, Ashraful was unstoppable and could almost single-handedly win Bangladesh the game.

Liton exudes that 'a cut above the rest' aura about him when he bats and as a result, has won fans from all over the world.

Who knows, if Liton can continue in this way, he can establish himself as one of the best batters in world cricket.