Bangladesh’s ODI captain Tamim Iqbal talked about his future in international cricket and talked about sacrificing one format in order to prolong his career further. Iqbal recently featured in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, in which Bangladesh lost 0-3.
Tamim Iqbal. (Photo: AFP)
Tamim believed he still has 5-6 years of international cricket left in him, but it was only possible if he picked and chose two formats to play in for Bangladesh. However, he also talked about his availability for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be played in India in October-November.
T20 World Cup Is On My Mind. I Know Which Format I Want To Leave Early And Which Later: Tamim Iqbal
Tamim Iqbal was not part of Bangladesh’s 0-3 T20I series loss, as he had previously informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board of his unavailability for the shortest format.
“Of course the T20 World Cup is very much on my mind and this is just six months away and I am not 36 or 37, so why not? T20 is not out of mind. Look how I want to have my cricketing career and how I would like it to shape is in my head. I know which format I want to leave early and which format I want to leave later. I know everything and I don’t think that I have to disclose everything to everyone,” Tamim told Cricbuzz on Friday.
While Tamim didn’t exactly pinpoint the time period when he will call quits from a format or which format it will be, it is almost certain that the veteran opener would want to prolong his career in ODIs and Test cricket.
“When I feel that I have to let go of this format to prolong the other two, I will not push myself and carry on with that. The message is very clear, I want to play for Bangladesh as long as possible and I want to give my best for the country. I want to leave one format just to make sure I can give my best to the other two formats. It is not that I am tired of Test cricket that I am leaving or I am tired of T20 that I am leaving, it is just to make sure that I can give my best to other two formats,” he said.
I Want To Play For Five To Six Years, Difficult To Do So While Playing All Three Formats: Tamim Iqbal
The left-hander, who is the only batsman from Bangladesh to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket, said that he currently wants to play for 5-6 more years, but it is not possible for him to do so while playing all three formats of the game.
“If I want to play for five to six years then it is very difficult for me to play three formats. Normally if you see the international cricketers around the world you will see they don’t retire from all the formats at one go,” he added.
T<!---->a<!---->m<!---->i<!---->m<!----> <!---->I<!---->q<!---->b<!---->a<!---->l<!----> <!---->[<!---->I<!---->m<!---->a<!---->g<!---->e<!---->-<!---->G<!---->e<!---->t<!---->t<!---->y<!---->]“I don’t want to indicate anything as I said it can be ODIs, Tests or T20s. I will play those two formats where I can contribute to the team and let go that format where I feel that I have nothing much to give,” said Tamim.
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