Selectors face trouble finding Tamim’s replacement
Tamim failed to live up to expectations during the World Cup. Right after that, he continued to struggle against Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series as both batsman and captain, where Bangladesh suffered a clean sweep.
Bangladesh national cricket team is gearing up to start their new home season with the solitary Test against Afghanistan which is set to be played from September 5. Selectors are busy trying to sort out the final squad for this match, and the biggest problem they are facing is to find a replacement for Tamim Iqbal who is currently on a break.
Tamim failed to live up to expectations during the World Cup. Right after that, he continued to struggle against Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series as both batsman and captain, where Bangladesh suffered a clean sweep.
Despite the bad patch in white-ball cricket, Tamim hit three fifties in his last five Test innings. So it is really tough for the Tigers’ selectors to find a replacement for him in the Test against Afghanistan.
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“Tamim is our regular opener, but he is not playing in this series. He is a proven performer for us. In the last three Tests, Shadman (Islam) was Tamim’s partner. But we are yet to decide who will be Shadman’s partner in the upcoming Test. We are discussing whether we would play a young talent or go for a more experienced player,” BCB selector and former captain of the national team Habibul Bashar told the media on Monday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
“In the last three Tests, Shadman did well. But he is still very young. When Tamim was in the side, Shadman did not feel any pressure. So we are yet to finalize who will accompany Shadman now. This is the main reason why we are taking much time to announce the squad,” he added.
In the meantime, Habibul praised pace-bowling coach Charl Langeveldt for his eagerness to develop a good bunch of pacers who could perform well abroad. The former captain said, “If we want to win Tests abroad, we need to have a good bunch of pace-bowlers. We realized it before. Now, Langeveldt is working hard on it. When we play at home, spinners do the main job. But when it comes to the matches abroad, we need wicket-taking pace-bowlers. The new coach is interested to work with the pace-bowlers who are in the national team and high-performance unit.”
BCB will announce the squad for the Afghanistan Test later this week. They might include more than 14 members in the squad so that the extra three or four players can hone their skills being included in the national side, said Habibul.
