'Imrul's exclusion unfortunate'
When Imrul Kayes was excluded from the Bangladesh team for the ODI and Test series against New Zealand, it raised a few eyebrows. Form may have not been his friend in recent times but the left-handed batsman was the highest scorer for Bangladesh in the 2016 away series against the Black Caps.
Aside from that he came good when the side needed him, especially against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, playing a vital 72-run knock to get Bangladesh out of trouble. Imrul followed up with his best ever batting performance during the home ODI series against Zimbabwe, becoming Bangladesh's highest run-scorer in a three-match series by striking 349 runs and beating Tamim Iqbal's haul of 312 in 2012 against Pakistan. Such was the ripple effect of his performances that he had created a timely competition for the opening slot alongside Liton Das and Nazmul Hossain during Tamim's absence due to injury.
Tamim understood the misfortune of his once opening partner quite well but reiterated that opportunities will eventually arrive.
"It is unfortunate," Tamim said strongly when asked if it was unfortunate for Imrul to be left out. "He scored 350 [349] in a series, then he had two failures in ODIs but that has to be accepted because that's how cricket goes. Many times due to the team combination or the team's position, things do not go accordingly. Obviously he was in the mind of the coach, captain and the selectors but I'm sure they also had different ideas, which is why it [Imrul's inclusion] did not happen.
"Opportunities keep coming and when another one comes, I'm sure he will grab it with both hands," he continued.
None of the Tigers' openers or top-order have been making steady runs in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League with Soumya Sarkar's form of particular concern.
Asked to comment on the players' forms ahead of the New Zealand, which will be a vital series to gauge their capabilities for the World Cup, Tamim explained the need to stay among the runs.
"The format is different but being amongst runs will help you in any format. It will be good for the players to get some runs," he said.
He emphasized that the conditions and format will be different in New Zealand but hopes that the Tigers can begin their visit with some confidence they can bank on.
"Look, Taskin has bagged 17 [20 now] wickets and Mushfiqur is the second-highest run-getter in the BPL. I think it's not very important what the format is, since if you are batting well and bowling well then you will definitely have some confidence," he concluded.
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