Sports Desk: “I am not the captain of Tamim Iqbal’s eleven, but the captain of Bangladesh.” Tamim Iqbal said this in a press conference about the formation of the team before the England series.
In this Sunday’s press conference at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, the topic was keeping spinner Taijul Islam in the team.
Earlier, Taijul was not in the team for the ODI series against India, but he was against England. Tamim was unable to participate in the India series due to injury.Tamim was surprised not to see Taijul in that series. Taijul was given a spot this time at the request of captain Tamim.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan Papon said this in the media. Tamim is unhappy that this inside news of party selection has come out.
Tamim said, “There is talk about a specific player.” To be honest, I was surprised that he (Taijul) was not in the team against India.Because he has taken 8 wickets in the last three games.
Taijul spread the light by taking four wickets in his debut match against Zimbabwe in 2014.The spinner, who became the regular face of the red ball, did not do well with the white ball after that match. Naturally, I missed the chance. Became irregular. However, Taijul did justice to his name in the last two games of the series. After taking a career-best 5 wickets against the West Indies, he took 3 wickets in 2 matches against Zimbabwe. In all, he has 20 wickets in 12 matches. He has taken eight in the last three matches.
Tamim said, “Many things are discussed in the team selection meeting.” There is a lot of talk behind closed doors. I agree and disagree on many things. The same goes for selectors. There are many differences. But we are all a team. Me, the head coach, the selectors… we are all a team. I will not sit here and say, “This is his work or this is someone else’s work.” If we fail, we fail. Even if we get results, we will get them as a team. “It is not very healthy for anything to come out of there (the closed-door meeting),” said Tamim.
Not only captain Tamim but also spin coach Rangana Herath voted for Taijul. Nasum had to drop out to make room for Taijul. Despite not getting a place in the team, Nasum won the praise of the captain.
In this case, Nasum (Ahmed) is also excellent. He is doing great in T20. Besides, he has done well in the limited opportunities he has had in ODIs as well.
Tamim’s message is clear. If you are on the team, you have to perform. All things considered, the captain felt that Taijul was suitable for the ODI series. As you are also reminded, there is no personal preference here. At that time, he said it was not Tamim XI, it was Bangladesh.
“But I will always prioritize performance, whatever it is.” If I don’t like someone personally, but he performs well, I will definitely take him. It is my responsibility.
“If I had been the captain of Tamim Iqbal’s XI, I might have thought about likes and dislikes.” But I am the captain of the Bangladesh national team. So it doesn’t matter. Whoever performs, I will be by his side. Tamim added
