Shakib says he hasn't spoken with Litton since he broke his bat

Bangladesh will be playing the World Cup in India without their greatest-ever opener, Tamim Iqbal and the opening combination remains a massive area of concern for the team.

While Tamim is not part of the squad, the other established opener, Litton Das' form with the bat and a lack of runs from him at the top has been one of the reasons as well behind the opening being a worry.

In the second ODI against New Zealand, where Litton last batted, he vented his frustration after getting out and broke his bat as he was about to enter the team dressing room a video of Litton breaking his bat went viral.

Litton was the stand-in captain of the side for the first two matches of that series as he was the vice-captain of the side, but since then, the stand-in captain for the third ODI was Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shanto scored runs with the bat in the last match.

For the World Cup squad, Litton has been stripped of vice-captaincy duties and they have given the role to Shanto instead.

Bangladesh's ODI team captain Shakib Al Hasan was asked about Litton's lack of form and if he had spoken to his former vice-captain in an interview with local sports channel T Sports.

"We have not spoken since (the bat breaking incident) but we do speak on and off," Shakib said.

He went on to add: "I am sure and I feel Litton will be one of the best players this World Cup."

On Litton losing the vice-captaincy, Shakib elaborated and hoped it would take some pressure off of him and "allow him to concentrate more on his batting". 

"The most important thing we need from Litton is for him to score runs with the bat if I'm being honest. If he can enjoy his batting, I'm sure people will love watching it and the world will be waiting for Litton's batting," Shakib concluded.