The opener aims to win Dhaka Test
“We played a very competitive match, so we will be better prepared and more confident for the next game,” said Tamim Iqbal, who recently moved up two slots to reach 24th position with scores of 78 and nine in the latest ICC Test player rankings.
“Everyone is saying that we played well. But we have discussed as a team that we cannot be so happy with so little. We should have won the game,” Tamim told reporters during a gap of their practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday.
“We can take positives from the first Test, like competing for five days. We will try to win the next game, which is a belief that is held by each and every cricketer who plays for Bangladesh,” he added.
The opener also said that they want to use the rhythm what they got from the Chittagong Test for the future games.
“It is not easy to return to cricket after 14 months but I think the players adapted very well. The batsmen moved from T20s to ODIs to Test cricket. We have a number of Tests in the next six months, so we want to use the rhythm from the Chittagong Test for the future,” the 27-year-old batsman, who played 43 Tests for Bangladesh after stepping into international cricket in 2007, said.
Forgetting the output of the last match, they should stick to the process-planning and focus on the next game irrespective of wickets, DRS and toss, says this Chittagong-born batsman.
“I think the less I talk about the last game, the better. It was a good Test match, but we lost in the end. Five years from now, it will read that we lost the game. We should stick to the processes and planning that we have. We are discussing more on what we can do with bat and ball, not on the wicket or the toss,” he said.
“The wicket in Chittagong was in our favour but we still lost the game. We have to utilise the wicket by playing well. We have to reduce our mistakes, and bowl according to the wicket. I think we are doing it that way, and we know that the wicket is out of our control,” he also said.
“I don’t really get DRS too much. It will go both ways, some of it depends on luck. We want to play well, above all. Wickets, DRS and toss are not what we are focusing on,” he added.
“Batting wasn’t easy in that wicket but we had our moments. I think we should have stretched those moments a bit. If the wicket remains the same in Dhaka, the batsmen should score 20-25 runs more after they are settled.”
When asked about his personal target, Tamim said that he will make his best effort to play a long innings for the team.
“I want to as many runs as possible for Bangladesh. I will try to play a big innings, but I don’t have any number in mind. I want to make use of the opportunity,” he said about his personal target.
