Opening batsman Imrul Kayes said on Tuesday that he is willing to change his game and play in a more aggressive manner if the situation demands it in the interest of the team.
Kayes usually plays the role of an anchor while allowing his partner Tamim Iqbal to take a go at the bowlers. But in the match against India on February 19, he played like a real master blaster, cracking 34 off 29 balls.
He took Shantakumaran Sreesanth for a ride in the fifth over when he smashed four boundaries to score 24 runs.
‘The target was very big. So Tamim and I decided that both of us will start playing our shots from the early stage to get off to a good start,’ Kayes told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
‘If the ball comes into the middle of the bat, I am ready to have a go and play a stroke,’ Kayes said.
Kayes was the highest scorer in a one-day international for Bangladesh in 2010 but always stayed away from the spotlight because of his more illustrious batting partner Tamim Iqbal.
For a year, Kayes and Tamim have been giving Bangladesh’s opening pair a great stability although his contribution has largely been unnoticed.
It is just because of him that the regular opener Junaed Siddique has to go down the order in the batting line-up and Shahriar Nafees to be content with carrying the towels and bottles.
‘Actually, my job is to go and stay at the wicket giving Tamim as much strikes as possible to have a go at the bowlers,’ Kayes said.
‘In the last match, he was not getting his timing right. So, he decided to stay at the wicket while I decided that I have to take the charge to be at par with the run rate,’ he said.
He was also confident that Bangladesh will bounce back in the second game as they have a more solid team, which is mentally strong enough to cope up with any pressure.
‘I feel that the biggest change that came in the team is in its way of thinking. It has changed drastically in a year,’ Kayes said.
‘Now we are more focused and believe that anything can happen if the day is ours,’ he said. ‘We had played a few matches against Ireland and I believe we have the ability to overcome them.’
