Bangladesh stand-in captain Tamim Iqbal stressed the need to win the first ODI match against Sri Lanka to begin the three-match ODI series in a perfect manner, as they want to quell the World Cup disappointment by clinching the series.
Tamim will also make his captaincy debut in the first match, which will take place today (Friday) at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The match kicks-off at 3.00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).
But the captaincy is not the issue that Tamim is thinking at the moment as he urged his players to set the tune by winning the game first.
“It was the last minute call [by getting captaincy] as our regular captain [Mashrafe Bin Mortaza] got injured,” Tamim said ahead of the match on Thursday.
“I am not thinking about the captaincy rather I am really focused on how to win the game. If we can win the game then the captaincy will bring a special feeling for me. It is the players who can make it (captaincy) special. Fortunately for us, all the players are experienced and they know what to do. And I would have to do my task by helping them and by making them comfortable.”
Tamim, however, got almost a new set of players, as some of the key players being injured were forced to rest or took leave on personal ground.
While regular captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin were ruled out for their respective injury, Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan were granted leave for their personal affairs.
Tamim keeps his belief on the existing players, saying that they would be keen to prove their mettle. He said the first target is to do well in the first session to set the tune for the whole series.
“Whatever we do first – batting or bowling, our target is to do well in the first session,” Tamim said. “Our main target is to win this game and to win the series. This is the target that I think Sri Lanka has also set. The team who will execute their plan well, they will win the series. So our target is to do our job perfectly.”
The opener, who had an ordinary World Cup outing, scoring just 235 runs in eight matches, was reluctant to dub any side favourite in the series.
“Sri Lanka is a good team at their own den. But we also played good cricket against them recently. I think the team who will execute their plan perfectly, will win the series.”
