Interview with Tamim Iqbal
AAK: Today we are joined by young opening batsmen Tamim Iqbal, welcome Tamim
TI: Thank you
AAK: The media built up your arrival on the test scene but you failed to deliver, any comments?
TI: The jump from the Bangladeshi domestic scene to the International scene is unbelievably hard, the structure beneath us must be more professional if people are to live up to their expectations put on them by the fans.
AAK: Your teammate Mushfiqur Rahim didn?t seem to have the same troubles though proving to be one of the players of the series, is their a certain reason why he didn?t have such troubles?
TI: I think there were a few minor things that helped this situation but i'm not going to dump on Mushfiqur in an effort to make my form seem acceptable. Mushfiqur played beyond brilliant he applied himself and used the people around him to contribute to the team something that I did not do.
AAK: You came out and showed the Australians what you were made of hitting a very destructive 41. Was their anything stuck in your mind when you arrived at the crease?
TI: The only thing I kept thinking of was how I had to return the favour that the selectors had given me, I knew that Javed Omar was very willing to have his spot back but the youth policy that is starting to appear in our team continued and I managed to prove my worth.
AAK: While we are on the subject, how is your relationship with Javed Omar?
TI: I cant really get a lot of help from Javed due to our styles being completely different but his advice on certain bowlers and how to apply yourself certainly came in handy. A few concentration techniques worked as well.
AAK: We have a few questions from our forums who are following your progress are you happy to answer them?
TI: Yes that?s fine
AAK: Ok first up, from gamerkid22 ?How difficult was it to face the quick bowling of Brett Lee?
TI: I couldn?t believe his pace? I?ve been told that is the quickest he has bowled since the 2003 World Cup where he was in a pace race with Shoaib Akhtar. I really struggled throughout the test series but during the first one day international I managed to use it against him but there is no substitute for raw pace.
AAK: Next question, from treva ?How much experience are you picking up from playing against Australia??
TI: I really think facing true quick bowling has helped as well as facing one of the greatest bowlers of all-time Glenn McGrath who never gives you anything to work with. The main thing I will take out of playing against Australia is watching their batsmen apply themselves to their task, the amount of good balls they are willing to leave just so they can take advantage of the ones they are able to score runs off.
AAK: Last one from treva again, obviously your biggest fan Hahaha ?Are you and the Bangla team good mates with the lads in the Aussie team? Is there a good atmosphere after the game between the two sides.?
TI: With the Australians I think they are misunderstood, they are the ultimate professionals and apply themselves this way. No matter the situation they are always trying to get the victory and they never seem to let up which is something I think a lot of teams can learn from. With Dav Whatmore being Australian the relationship between the two teams is fine but they do not socialise after the game with us but I can understand why after playing against them.
AAK: A very good insight into the Australian mindset, something that you can only learn from match experience. Thanks for joining us today Tamim and all the best in the future.
TI: No problem
AAK: The next one-day international is in a few days time I hope you join us to see if the Bangladeshi batsmen can find some form and back up the brilliant work produced from their bowlers. Thank you for joining us and we hope to see you again
