Asia Cup 2018: Tamim Iqbal Ready to Shoulder Responsibility Alongside Liton Das

Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal is of the opinion that Liton Das could well be his opening partner for the upcoming Asia Cup 2018 which is slated to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is all set to do the bulk of a job for the Tigers.

The Bangladesh team starts their campaign against Sri Lanka on 15^th September in Dubai. Bangladesh has dropped Anamul Haque from the Asia Cup squad after below-par performances in the three One-day Internationals against the Windies in July.

Das last played for Bangladesh back in 2017. He has been included in the squad alongside another opener Mohammad Mithun. However, Tamim feels Das will be his partner in the six-nation tournament.

“Liton has been there (playing for Bangladesh) for a while,” said Tamim.

 

“He has been opening for us in Tests and in T20Is and has been batting quite well. If the team management decides to open with him, it won’t be a surprise,” he added.

Bangladesh has never played in UAE earlier. Tamim is not sure what to expect from the pitches. However, he will bank on his experience of playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the UAE.

Tamim Iqbal will use his PSL experience

“We have not seen the wickets, but I have played here before in PSL, and the wickets can sometimes be good for good batting, sometimes it is helpful for the spinners, so we need to see what kind of wicket we get, but playing in Dubai will be exciting,” he remarked.

Bangladesh is ranked higher than Sri Lanka in the Latest ODI rankings. Tamim is of the opinion that Bangladesh knows the Sri Lankan team inside and out.

“Our ex-head coach (Chandrika Hathurasinghe) was from Sri Lanka, and we have played them a lot recently, so we know them inside out. But it depends on the day, whichever team who ticks most boxes will have the chance to win,” Tamim asserted.

Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in another Group B game. Tamim feels the first two-game will be very crucial in ensuring a berth in the Super fours for Bangladesh.

“First two games are very important to go to the next round. But thinking too ahead is not going to work, we have to take it match by match,” said the veteran batsman ahead of the Asia Cup 2018.

The opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has represented Bangladesh in 182 ODI’s and has been the leading run-getter for Bangladesh in ODI’s with 6,025 runs. However, Liton Das is relatively new on the international circuit.