Litton Das was missing from Bangladesh’s original 15-man squad for the first Test against Australia because he was still recovering from a left calf tear picked up two months earlier. He suffered the injury during the third ODI against Australia in June and, despite finishing that innings unbeaten, scans later confirmed damage serious enough to keep him out for the rest of that home season. He has now been added back to the group ahead of the Darwin Test after his recovery moved faster than the medical staff had planned.
The Grade One Tear and Recovery Timeline
The issue traces back to June 14, when Litton was batting in the third ODI against Australia at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. He felt something in his left calf but batted on, finishing unbeaten on 58 off 78 balls with six fours and two sixes as Bangladesh posted 274 for 5. He was still named in the T20I squad, but a scan in Chattogram on June 17 confirmed a grade one tear and ruled him out of the T20Is against Australia.
Team physio Bayzedul Islam Khan said on June 29, with two weeks already gone, that recovery would need two to three more weeks. That estimate proved optimistic: he also missed the Test against Zimbabwe, the first ODI of that series, and the full Zimbabwe T20I leg, returning only for the second and third ODIs. He later travelled to Singapore for a specialist opinion and platelet-rich plasma therapy, saying he was still not fully healed but staying positive about the care he was getting there.
Litton Das Bangladesh Squad Calf Injury
When the 15-member squad for the first Test was announced on July 26, his name was absent, with the calf issue still the stated reason. Najmul Hossain Shanto led the group, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz as his deputy, alongside Soumya Sarkar, Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan, Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim making up the batting unit.
With the regular gloveman missing, two wicketkeeping options were picked instead. Jaker Ali Anik returned to Test selection for the first time since the 2025 tour of Sri Lanka, while Amite Hasan was added purely for cover, a call directly tied to the enforced absence behind the stumps.
Other regulars missed out too. Nahid Rana was ruled out of the whole series with a grade two strain on his left side, Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman were both carrying hamstring issues, and Mahmudul Hasan Joy was left out despite scoring 2 and 22 against Zimbabwe.
Early Clearance Brings Him Back to Darwin
The recovery accelerated from late July onward. Litton was scheduled to begin a running and conditioning block on July 28, with a fitness assessment originally pencilled in for August 13, the same day as the first Test itself. That plan suggested he would only be assessed once the match was already underway.
Instead, progress came in well ahead of schedule. He was added to the squad as a 16th member in early August and flew out to join the group in Darwin on the Sunday before the match. Should the recovery hold, he will also be in contention for the second Test.
Recent Test Form and Career Numbers
Before the injury, Litton had been in some of the best form of his career. His last Test knock came against Pakistan in Sylhet between May 16 and 20, when he made 128, and in Tests since the start of 2025 he has scored 568 runs in ten innings at an average of 56.80.
His overall Test record now stands at 54 matches, 94 innings, 3,356 runs at an average of 36.47, with six centuries and twenty half-centuries. Among Bangladesh’s wicketkeepers, no one has a higher Test batting average than his, a record that explains why the team was reluctant to fill his spot with anything more than temporary cover.
He returns not just as a batter but as Bangladesh’s newly appointed ODI captain, handed the role in the same week as his recall, taking over from Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The Litton Das Bangladesh squad calf injury saga ends with him walking into two jobs at once, reclaiming his place behind the stumps while taking charge of the fifty-over side.