Bangladesh vice-captain Tamim Iqbal said on Saturday that it will take one or two more practice sessions for himself and skipper Sakib al Hasan to get up to the speed with the rest of the squad after missing a large part of the preparation camp for the tour of Zimbabwe.
Tamim was away in England playing for Nottinghamshire in the Friends Life Twenty-20 tournament and although he was briefly involved in the month-long conditioning camp, skipper Sakib al Hasan took no part in it.
The duo returned to Dhaka on July 17 and have yet to take part in a full-fledged practice session with the rest of the 15-member squad who will play a Test match and five one-day internationals against Zimbabwe.
‘It will take one or two practice sessions to be more comfortable with the players,’ Tamim told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday.
The left-handed opener however, does not believe that the pair’s absence from the squad due to their county cricket assignment will affect their relationship with the rest of the squad.
‘I personally feel that we were a bit detached but I don’t think it will be a problem because we have a very good relationship with the rest of the players,’ said Tamim.
‘When Sakib went to play county cricket for the first time, I was very happy for him and now I am sure the other players are feeling the same for me,’ he added.
Tamim is also impressed by the coaching style of Stuart Law, whose ideas are being received with great interest by the players, believes the Tigers’ vice-captain.
‘Every man is different with their approach to coaching but he is sharing his ideas which we are following with a lot of interest,’ said Tamim.
According to Tamim, the players are confident of a positive outcome in the series after the work that has been put in preparing for the tour.
cannot be any better preparation than what we have had in the last one and a half months,’ said Tamim.
‘We now have to execute the plans on the field. If our approach is right then I am hopeful about a positive result in the series,’ said Tamim.
Tamim, who is nursing a groin injury he picked up in his penultimate Twenty-20 match in England for Nottinghamshire, was confident of regaining his fitness before the start of the solitary Test match against Zimbabwe on August 4.
‘I will have a scan tomorrow [Sunday] but I am feeling better than the first day of my return. The physio is very confident about my chances of making a quick recovery,’ said Tamim.
-With New Age input
