'Afg series as crucial as Eng'
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said yesterday that playing for the country is always an inspiration for them, no matter who they are playing against. He was also not ready to consider the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan a preparation series.
"There is no lack of inspiration for us. We are going to play international matches where if someone achieves a century or five-wicket haul, that will go into the record books. Regardless of whether we play against Afghanistan, Australia or England, playing for the country always motivates us," said Tamim while he was talking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
The left-handed opener said that they will need to play their best to win matches against Afghanistan. "I always say if you want to win matches, no matter who your opponents are, you must play your best cricket. It's very simple -- the team that can execute their plans in the middle will win in the end, so you have no scope to undermine any team or take any team lightly," he added.
"We need to do the exact same thing against Afghanistan that we will need to do against England. So the Afghanistan series is as important as the England series," he continued. He however believed that the Tigers are now in much better shape than during the ICC World Cup 2015 when they last met Afghanistan.
"But I must say the first match will be important, so we will try our best to do everything right in the first game against Afghanistan. And you know it will not be an easy task to get back the rhythm after such a long break but it's also a new challenge for us to prove ourselves as a good team," he said.
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