Asia Cup 2018: Losing Tamim Iqbal is a Massive Blow For Us - Mashrafe Mortaza

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza believes losing Tamim Iqbal is a massive blow for them. The southpaw opener Tamim Iqbal had suffered a blow to his wrist in the opening match of the Asia Cup 2018. Thus, Tamim Iqbal was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. The left-hander has been instrumental in the success of Bangladesh which is going to leave a big void in their team.

Tamim showed great audaciousness when he turned out to bat against Sri Lanka with a broken wrist. In fact, Tamim’s absence was palpable in the clash against Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Mashrafe Mortaza believes Tamim Iqbal’s absence will give a chance to other players to perform. Bangladesh had given a chance to Nazmul Hossain Shanto in place of Tamim.

On the other hand, Mashrafe Mortaza said why people are only talking about Virat Kohli’s absence as Tamim has been a star for them as well.

“Why only talk about the absence of Virat Kohli? Our Tamim Iqbal is also not here. He is our star. He has done well for us every time. It will be an advantage for other teams but it also gives opportunities to others,” he told TOI.

Meanwhile, India and Bangladesh haven’t played much against each other in the recent past. In fact, both of them locked horns in the Champions Trophy in which India went on to win. On the other hand, India has won nine matches as compared to Bangladesh’s one in the Asia Cup encounters.

“There is a lot of hype in India-Pakistan matches. There is also a fair bit of hype when we play against India. We haven’t played much against India. We played them in Champions Trophy semifinal last year, defeated them in a home series and nearly beat them in World T20. It doesn’t matter if we play India or not, we want to win against all teams.” 

India and Bangladesh matches have gone down to the wire in the recent past. It could be another thrilling match in the Super Four stage as both teams will square off with each other.