National opener Tamim Iqbal said on Wednesday that he is looking forward to the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe leaving behind the disappointment of not being able to play the series against Australia. Zimbabwe will arrive in Bangladesh on November2 to play three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals against the Tigers.The Bangladesh Cricket Board decided to split Zimbabwe’s scheduled home series of January after Australia’s abrupt postponement of the series opened up a window.
Tamim, the first national cricketer to speak on the issue of Australia’s reluctance, came up with his mind while signing as a brand ambassador of Gold Mark biscuit at a city hotel.
‘Let bygones be bygones’, Tamim told reporters on the occasion. ‘But there was reason behind it,’ he added.
‘But what will happen in future we can think about it,’ said Tamim.
‘I am not sure what had happened as the fixture is yet to be confirmed.
‘I always believe the more we play the better for us as we are a young team and can improve no matter whether it is Twenty20 or ODI or something else,’ he said.
‘Naturally it was disappointing not to play against Australia. If we could represent for Bangladesh in Tests against Australia it would be great but there was a reason behind it and we did not have anything in our hands,’ he said.
‘I am sure BCB is looking after it and sooner or later we will be playing against them,’ said the southpaw.
Tamim, however, feels that the time was not totally wasted in the meantime as the national cricketers could participate in National Cricket League, a tournament on which they are often critisised for not showing enough interest to.
‘At the same time it was good that national cricketers were available in the NCL as we usually don’t get chances to play in the tournament,’ said Tamim.
‘We played four matches and it was like playing a lot of matches as we were in cricket for the whole year,’ he said,
‘I think there won’t be any complain regarding the standard of NCL,’ he added.
Tamim signed a two-year contract with Gold Mark, replacing Mushfiqur Rahim, who ended his one-year tenure earlier.
-With New Age input
