Prior to the Pakistan series, his inconsistency frustrated a lot of people. Many wanted his removal from the side. Some even claimed he had nothing left to offer Bangladesh cricket. However, opener Tamim Iqbal did what he does best. He fought against the odds and bounced back hard in the Pakistan series, registering a host of records. Yesterday, the Chittagong cricketer managed to take some time out of his daily chores to talk with Minhaz Uddin Khan of Dhaka Tribune. An honest Tamim shed some light on his comeback to form and talked about several topics, including the record-breaking opening partnership in the Khulna Test. Here are the excerpts:
How is life after the Pakistan series?
It is no different for me, to be honest. I am trying to be as calm as possible. Whatever I have done in the series is already in the past now. I am now looking forward to the home series against India. I will try my best to perform to my capability and win a few matches for the team and for the country. Nothing has changed. I do not remember what I have done against Pakistan. What I do know is that I have been in good touch and I will try to hold onto that as long as I can because you never know when the bad times come back.
Prior to the series, you were criticised in many quarters for your indifferent form. Some people literally wanted you out of the team. In this kind of situation, it is often tough for a sportsperson to script a comeback. What inspired you to come back the way you did?
It is true that the situation I was in was very disappointing. But, I always had the belief in me that I would come back and strongly. My close ones – family and friends - helped me a lot during my bad patch. They stood firmly beside me and tried their level best to keep me motivated. They enabled me to wipe out the negative tension in my mind and think positively and concentrate on my job. So, I thank them.
What was going on in your mind when you smashed a hundred in the first ODI?
I was relieved, to be honest. There was a lot of pressure on me and a good knock was long overdue. I was relieved. I was a bit frustrated because of all the criticism which made me celebrate the way I did. It was a happy moment for me.
Did any word of motivation cross your mind when you blasted the unbeaten hundred in the second ODI?
My wife (Ayesha Siddiqa Iqbal) always believed that I would bounce back strongly. After I scored the first hundred, she called me and said, “You are not stopping here. You have to continue the way you are playing.” She normally does not talk about cricket that much. She does not understand cricket all that much, to be honest, which is good for me (laughs), because that way, she cannot give me tips on my game! Those were the few words that she had told me, I think. It was very nice of her and I thank her for that.
How do you deal with all the criticism?
See, I am a professional sportsman, and if I do not play to my potential, if I am not scoring runs, critics will criticise. I have to take it positively. And, if I score runs, which I have done in the Pakistan series, people will praise me. So, that is the way of life, you know. What I have said over and over is that if they want to criticise me, make sure it’s only me. They should not involve my personal life or my family.
What was more difficult? The hundred in the first ODI or the double hundred in the first Test?
By far, it was the century in the first ODI. As I have already said, I was under immense pressure and when you are under pressure, you cannot play your natural game, you cannot play all the shots you want. But, I got the hundred in the first ODI while playing my shots and that was the beauty of it. I did not think of what I had done in the past. So, that was really special to me.
You and your opening partner Imrul [Kayes] rewrote the history books in the Khulna Test. You two broke a record that had stood for 55 long years – the highest opening partnership in the second innings. What was going through your and Imrul’s mind when you guys went out to bat with Bangladesh trailing by a huge margin of 296 runs?
We were not concerned with the total that Pakistan had posted, which was massive, something like 600-odd. We went out, talked at the middle and said to each other: We cannot look at the scoreboard; we just need to play our individual game. We had decided to enjoy our batting which I think was the most important part. And, everything went well for us. He did his job and I did mine. I played my shots and while he took his time, he did play his shots later. So, that was the best part of the partnership, I think.
Bangladesh played brilliantly in the ODI series, the lone Twenty20 international and parts of the Khulna Test. You guys had all the confidence heading into the Dhaka Test, which was the series decider. What went wrong?
You cannot score 300-plus partnerships in every Test match. I think; this is not humanly possible. It’s true we did not have the best of times in the second Test, but if you see the whole series, you will notice that it was a brilliant one for us. We won the ODI series, we won the T20 match and we did fantastically well in the first Test. Yes, we could not finish it off nicely.
I think Shahadat’s [paceman Shahadat Hossain] injury was the key because you are playing on a green wicket with a bit of moisture on it; you have won the toss and you have opted to field first. So, you expect your fast bowlers to get you some early wickets. So, it’s a huge drawback when your fast bowler gets injured in just the second ball of the game.
It demoralises the whole team. His injury meant we had only one fast bowler to look up to and it was [paceman Mohammad] Shahid and you cannot expect him to bowl 50 overs in a day. So, that was the key drawback and everyone saw that we took two early wickets which unfortunately were no-balls. Azhar Ali, who went on to score 226, was initially out after scoring only 15 runs. Those two no-balls and Shahadat’s injury were the key reasons and to be very honest, we did not bat well in the first innings, and that cost us the game. They scored 550-odd but if we could have scored a few more runs in the first innings, something around 350-plus, we could have had a better chance.
Were you surprised to see a green wicket at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur?
Yes, I was a bit surprised. I will not lie to you, I was a bit surprised. The plan we had, I think we did everything possible. We won the toss, which was vital, and elected to field. That was the plan and we did that. But, injuries are accidents and you cannot help it. So, these things went against us. If Shahadat was fit or if we were able to take two or three early wickets or if the no-balls did not take place, maybe Pakistan would have ended up scoring 250 or 300 runs and that could have got us back into the game. In the second innings, the ball was not doing as much as it was doing on the first day.
Taking into account Bangladesh’s performance in the Zimbabwe series, the 2015 ICC World Cup and the Pakistan series, do you think the Tigers have come of age in recent times?
There is no question about it. We have beaten Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series, we have beaten them in the T20 and we have drawn a Test. If you see the whole series, we were on top. There should be no doubt that Bangladesh have improved a lot. Bangladesh have improved massively, I think. Bangladesh have taken the next step already.
Yeah, our consistency is the main thing here. You know, this summer we are playing a lot of cricket at home.
We have big teams coming here like India, South Africa and Australia. I am not telling you that we will win all the series or we will be able to do the same that we have done in the Pakistan series. But, if we can win a few games in the upcoming series, I think it will continue to prove that there has been an improvement in the team.