Tamim Iqbal has come of age ever since making his international debut nine years back as he is currently the highest Bangladesh run-getter in all three formats. He was instrumental behind the Tigers' rise as the next big thing in world cricket. The vice captain of the Bangladesh Test side was candid during an exclusive interview with
Dhaka Tribune where he talked about the recent historic Test win against England, Mushfiqur Rahim’s captaincy, his personal goal and the challenges he faced before featuring for the national team, among other things.
Here are the excerpts:
How much does the historic Test win against England means to Bangladesh cricket?Massive. We have been going through a very bad phase in Test cricket and at times, we got frustrated and thought about the mistakes we were committing. All of a sudden, we started to believe in our strengths and registered our biggest win in Test cricket. I think the belief is important and I hope we can take this forward and improve as a team in Test cricket.
How do you rate Mushfiqur Rahim as the captain of the Test side?I think Mushfiq is a perfect example of a good leader. He is the most hard-working player in the team who gives his hundred percent as a cricketer and also as a captain. A captain should be someone whom everyone would like to follow and Mushfiq has all the qualities. Yes, at times we all make mistakes as we were playing Test cricket after over 14 months. Being a batsman, I have made some mistakes, same goes for Mushfiq. I still believe he has all the qualities of a perfect leader for the team.
Tamim said he shares a friendly competition with Shakib
DHAKA TRIBUNEDo you have any competitions with Shakib al Hasan in terms of performance and reaching new milestones?I always want to beat him when it comes to batting and same goes for Shakib when he goes out to bat. But unfortunately I can’t bowl and undoubtedly he is the best with the ball. Yes, there is a very healthy and positive competition among us as we always want to improve our game. There is a friendly competition between us to see who gets to score the most number of hundreds as we were almost neck to neck in that aspect. Even if I get dismissed after scoring 30 or 40 runs, he pinches me that I missed a fifty or a hundred. But we all take these things very positively and whenever he scores runs or I play a good knock, we congratulate each other.
How does it feels to witness the improvement of the Bangladesh team over the years? You were also a part of the team when the going got tough so how do you describe the Tigers' rise?If you ask me about the limited-over formats then I would say yes, we have come a long way and Bangladesh are now a dangerous side in the limited-overs. But in Test cricket, I will say we still need to improve a lot and we have a long way to go to become a consistent Test team.
Maybe we have registered a good win against England, but I still believe we have a lot to learn and improve in Test cricket.
Going back to the past, how difficult or easy was your journey to the Bangladesh team? There were high expectations on you as you were a member of a cricketing family where your uncle Akram Khan was the former captain and elder brother Nafees Iqbal was the opening Test batsman. Was there pressure on you right from the very early age?Yes, there was immense pressure on me, right from the age-level period. Everyone sees me differently as my uncle Akram chacha is a legend of Bangladesh cricket and my elder brother Nafees also played for Bangladesh. Everyone thinks that I will be selected only because of that but very few have noticed my hard work and dedication towards the game. Ultimately, I have to score runs and prove my ability on the field.
Tamim raises his bat after reaching his hundred against England
DHAKA TRIBUNEYou are the highest Bangladesh run-scorer in all three formats and people now recognise your uncle and brother by your name. How does it feel?Definitely it feels great to create records for my country but still, I never think like that as Akram Khan is a big name in the history of Bangladesh cricket. They played the game even without taking money at some point of their career. It goes on to show their dedication and love towards the game. I don’t want to compare myself in that way as my goal is different.
So what is your goal?To be frank, I don’t think about centuries or set any target but as I previously said, I want to score 10,000 runs in any format.
How much hard work and sacrifice does it take to improve Tamim as a player?Honestly, it’s really tough when you have all the attention on you right from the very early age. Everyone is watching you, how you play, how you behave and many more things. So yes, it was very tough and it was never possible without the support from my colleagues and coaches and along with my hard work. You know you will never achieve anything without hard work.
Where do you want to see the Bangladesh team when you retire?I would like to see Bangladesh at the top five or top three will be great, especially in ODIs and T20s and in Test cricket, I would be happy if we stay at the top five when I finish my career.