Tamim hopes for a better result in ODIs
Things have not gone Bangladesh's way so far in the Caribbean. Shakib Al Hasan's Test side were comprehensively whitewashed in the two-match Test series while T20I skipper Mahmudullah Riyad has come under heavy scrutiny for his style of captaincy after his side ended up losing the three-match series 2-0 with the first T20I getting washed out due to inclement weather.
The focus now shifts towards Tamim Iqbal, captain of the ODI side, as they prepare to take on West Indies in the three-match series with the first ODI scheduled to begin tonight at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. The match will begin at 7:30pm [BST].
Tamim has been out of action since playing the Test series as the left-hander is currently on a self-imposed exile from T20Is. And inclement weather in the Caribbean in the past few days meant that the southpaw, and his troops, have not had much practice before the ODI series.
Rain disrupted Bangladesh's practice session in Guyana on Friday. After celebrating Eid today among themselves, the Tigers will undergo their final practice session as they are scheduled for the first ODI on Sunday.
The focus now shifts towards Tamim Iqbal, captain of the ODI side, as they prepare to take on West Indies in the three-match series with the first ODI scheduled to begin tonight at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. The match will begin at 7:30pm [BST].
"You see, there is no reason to be satisfied with the practice that we had before the ODI series," Tamim clearly stated his dissatisfaction over the lack of practice when he talked to the media on Friday.
"It has been around 7-8 or around nine days that I haven't been able to bat. There was a chance today [for practice] but we could not have a session for long. We had to stop after I faced just two deliveries [due to the rain]. We can not predict the rain. All the practice sessions were scheduled but those did not happen accordingly due to the weather. We have to be mentally prepared," Tamim added.
Following a string of losses across formats, Bangladesh will hope to turn things around in their most favourite format of the game. Tamim remained hopeful of turning the fortunes with ODIs but admitted they would have to play better cricket.
"It's really tough when you do not win matches in a series. But we have to keep in mind that we are a better team in ODIs and that we have been doing good in this format for a while. But no matter how well we have been playing, we would still need to do things right on the day. We weren't able to do anything noteworthy in Tests or T20Is. But hopefully, a better result will come on July 10 [the day scheduled for the first ODI]," Tamim added.
Bangladesh will be missing premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in the ODIs as the cricketer asked for a leave. Tamim, however, was not the one to dwell on who is available and who is not.
"Players will have injuries and will also be on leave at times. But we have to form the best eleven with the ones we have available. We are only thinking about that," Tamim said.
With Shakib skipping Windies ODIs, Mushfiqur Rahim absent from the entire series due to performing the Hajj pilgrimage and Yasir Ali forced out of the tour with injury, there is an apparent dearth of batters in the Tigers' lineup. But that might open up an opportunity for Anamul Haque to steal the spotlight. Anamul is likely to be seen opening with Tamim and the right-hander would definitely want to bring his recent domestic form into the international stage as well.