'I need to prepare extra hard'

When all the members of the Bangladesh national team were enjoying their Eid break, Tamim Iqbal was seen working on his batting at the centre wicket of the Academy Ground in Mirpur on Monday to prepare for the full tour of West Indies next month.

It was the first time that the dashing opener was spending Eid away from his home town of Chittagong.

"I can't remember the last time I did not spend Eid in Chittagong, apart from my overseas assignments. Every year I spend Eid in Chittagong but this is the first time I am in Dhaka," Tamim told reporters yesterday.

"It's quite obvious that when the team is doing well, the players are also confident but I felt after watching their [West Indies] games [Tests against Sri Lanka] that however prepared I thought I was, it's not enough. So I thought I should prepare myself more and that was the reason I am doing the extra work. I always believe that I can't guarantee success and scoring runs but if I can prepare myself a 100 per cent, the job gets easier. Even if I fail, I can tell myself that I have tried my best but it didn't happen. It's important to prepare well to play well," said Tamim.

According to the dashing left-hander, there will be grassy wickets in West Indies where fast bowlers will get assistance and batsmen are expected to be greeted with bouncers, but he added that a positive mindset, rather than just looking to survive, will be key.

Bangladesh will take on West Indies in the first of the two Tests in Antigua on June 4 and before that the visitors will also play a two-day warm up game on June 27. According to Tamim the preparation ahead of the first Test will be key for visitors.

Mohammad Salahuddin --Former Tigers' fielding coach and the mentor of Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim -- was seen giving some batting tips to the left-hander during the session. Tamim said that he has asked Salahuddin to rectify some of the chinks in his batting.

"As you all know, I like to talk about my batting with him [Salahuddin] and I think he understands the way I think about my game and batting. I was not happy in the first one or two sessions as I felt that maybe I am doing something wrong. I asked him to have a look at my batting and rectify what was wrong. He identified a couple of things and I will try to work on it in the practice session," Tamim said.