Bangladesh were under the cosh against Scotland following the first innings at Saxton Oval on March 5. And while chasing 319 for victory, the early departure of opener Soumya Sarkar hardly helped matters.
Fellow opener Tamim Iqbal, however, was still there. In what could have been a tricky chase soon turned into a gettable total, thanks largely to Tamim’s heroics. Tamim smashed 95 off 100 balls with the help of nine boundaries and a six as Bangladesh romped home with six wickets in hand. Tamim struck several delightful cover drives while some of his one-legged pulls and hooks brought back memories of the great West Indian batsman and former Bangladesh coach Gordon Greenidge.
However, that proved to be the only notable knock from Tamim in the ongoing World Cup. Overall, the swashbuckling southpaw totaled 154 runs from six matches at an average of 25 and apart from that match-winning knock against the Scots, Tamim’s other scores read 19, 0, 2, 13 and 25.
While some Bangladeshi fans praised his efforts, the others have been not so generous as cruel Tamim jokes and memes did the rounds in the social networks. Many even called into question Tamim’s commitment to the Bangladesh cause.
Having witnessed and heard all the criticism, Tamim was hurting, deeply.
“I am also a human being and it hurts when someone says bad things about your wife and parents. I think my family is not responsible for my poor performance,” said a teary-eyed Tamim during an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune in Melbourne yesterday.
“Honestly, I am very disappointed with my performance. I want to say sorry to my fans and all the Bangladeshi supporters. I have let them down. I wanted to do something good for my country in the World Cup,” Tamim said before quickly adding, “If I am unable to score runs, it is natural that my fans will critisise me and I accept that. But, sometimes I get to see that some of them attack me personally. A few of them said bad things to my family members.
“Honestly, I know how much the people of my country love me. I am aware that they support me through thick and thin. To be frank, I always try my best to return their love whenever I wear the Bangladesh jersey. However, sometimes I am not able to perform. Not only the people, those bad performances also hurt me from the bottom of my heart.”
Birthday boy Tamim, who turned 26 yesterday, went on to request his countrymen to back him so that he can continue to perform for the Tigers for a long time to come.
