Tanzid backing himself to play 'natural game' in Asia Cup

Three years after helping Bangladesh to their first-ever Under-19 World Cup victory, opening batter Tanzid Hasan Tamim is set to make his senior team debut in the upcoming Asia Cup. Tanzid, if given a chance, will be the sixth player from that World Cup-winning team to play for Bangladesh. 

During his first media interaction after a maiden national team call-up, Tanzid expressed his desire to win the Cricket World Cup in India later this year.

"Everyone is saying that they want to win the [senior] World Cup," said Tanzid. "We are playing the Asia Cup in a few days but we have the World Cup on the back of our minds. We will try [to win the tournament] this year. If we are fortunate, we will do that In sha allah."

Tanzid has been an attacking batter since his U-19 days and has done reasonably well recently in domestic cricket. 

In 11 matches in the Dhaka Premier League, the southpaw scored 474 runs with the help of two fifties and a hundred and had a strike-rate of 93.3. He was Bangladesh A's best batter in the Emerging Asia Cup earlier this year, scoring 179 runs in four matches with a staggering strike-rate of 117.

"I don't think much before coming out to bat. I always think about playing positive cricket. Many say I play aggressive cricket. But I play my natural game and try to play to my strength," he said. 

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is encouraging Tanzid to continue playing his natural game.

"He told me to play the way I have played in the past. He told me to speak to him if I had any problem. He likes to ask questions so that he can bring the best out of us," said Tanzid.