ZCZC
BSP -15
CRICKET-SL-TAMIM
Our main target is to win 1st ODI against Sri Lanka: Tamim
DHAKA, July 25, 2019 (BSS)- Bangladesh stand-in captain Tamim Iqbal
stressed the need to win the first ODI match against Sri Lanka to begin the
three-match ODI series in a perfect manner, as they want to quell the World
Cup disappointment by clinching the series.
Tamim will also make his captaincy debut in the first match which will
take place tomorrow (Friday) at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
But the captaincy is not the issue that Tamim is thinking at the moment as
he urged his players to set the tune by winning the game first.
“It was the last minute call [by getting captaincy] as our regular captain
[Mashrafe Bin Mortaza] got injured,” Tamim said ahead of the match on
Thursday.
“I am not thinking about the captaincy rather I am really focused on how
to win the game. If we can win the game then the captaincy will bring a
special feeling for me. It is the players who can make it (captaincy)
special. Fortunately for us, all the players are experienced and they know
what to do. And I would have to do my task by helping them and by making them
comfortable.”
Tamim, however, got almost a new set of players, as some of the key
players being injured were forced to rest or took leave on personal ground.
While regular captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and all-rounder Mohammad
Saifuddin were ruled out for their respective injury, Liton Das and Shakib Al
Hasan were granted leave for their personal affairs.
Tamim keeps his belief on the existing players, saying that they would be
keen to prove their mettle. He said the first target is to do well in the
first session to set the tune for the whole series.
“Whatever we do first — batting or bowling, our target is to do well in
the first session,” Tamim said. “Our main target is to win this game and to
win the series. This is the target that I think Sri Lanka has also set. The
team who will execute their plan well, they will win the series. So our
target is to do our job perfectly.”
The opener, who had an ordinary World Cup outing, scoring just 235 runs in
eight matches, was reluctant to dub any side favourite in the series.
“Sri Lanka is a good team at their own den. But we also played good
cricket against them recently. I think the team who will execute their plan
perfectly, will win the series.”
Terming Lasith Malinga, who is set to retire from the cricket after the
first ODI against Bangladesh, as Legend, Tamim said, they will try to spoil
his farewell party.
“He is a legend. The thing that he did for Sri Lanka is always special. We
have utmost respect for him. But when we’ll play against them, I won’t
remember that it’s a special match for him. We’ll try to make this match
tough for him,” he said.
BSS/SMP/ARS/1748 hrs