Good start is always important: Tamim

In the first three games of the tri-nation ODI series, Tamim Iqbal scored 84 not out, 84 and 76 as Bangladesh looked managed to secure commanding wins. But since then, the left-hander has endured a lean patch and the team too has failed to replicate those performances.

Tamim scored only five and three in the last two games of the tri-series as the Tigers lost both games. Things looked a bit better in the first of the two-match Test series as the left-hander scored 52 and 41 and the Tigers managed to eke out a draw, but then again his scores of four and two in the second Test contributed to the hosts suffering a crushing defeat and a series loss.

It has become a pattern in recent times that whenever the southpaw opener fails to perform, the whole team collapses under pressure.

The upcoming two-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting tomorrow in Dhaka, will be an opportunity to buck the trend. The team will have to make do without the regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan, hence it will be all the more important for Tamim to stand up and deliver. The 28-year-old opener, following a training session at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur yesterday, hinted that while emphasizing the need for a good start.

"Obviously the start is very important whether it's batting or bowling part. Whenever we make a good start, be it with the bat or ball, most of the times we manage to do well, so the start is always important," Tamim said.

Tamim said they are disappointed with defeats in both the ODI tournament and the Test series, reminded that the important thing is to bounce back with a change in format.

"The scenario is different now as we don't play that much T20s, but if you notice in our fixture of the next six months you will see that we are going to play more T20s than ODIs. So I think this is the perfect time to settle the right balance and planning to go forward as the World Cup is in 2020. We still have a long time left and I believe that this is the format where we can do better than what we are doing," Tamim said.

The experienced campaigner also praised the five uncapped cricketers -- Abu Jayed, Ariful Hoque, Mahedi Hasan, Zakir Hasan and Afif Hossain – who have been included in the side.

"I think specially Rahi [Abu Jayed] is well deserving as he has been performing consistently in the last couple of years alongside Ariful Haque. We have been looking for someone who can finish the game and hit big and he [Ariful] is capable and deserving as well," he said.

Tamim also informed that Mahedi, who was his Comilla Victorians teammate in the Bangladesh Premier League, should be given more time to settle and be prepared for the long run.