Photo: Firoz Ahmed
Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal on Monday reached the United Kingdom where the southpaw is scheduled for two medical assessments — the updates of which the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will keenly be waiting for.
BCB will reportedly announce a 30-member preliminary squad for the upcoming Asia Cup within the next few days, with the camp scheduled to start on July 30.
The Tigers will, however, start preparations without their ODI skipper Tamim. With two major events on the horizon — the Asia Cup and the World Cup — how the team’s plan will be chalked out will depend heavily on what type of news is relayed from the UK.
Captain Tamim retiring in the middle of a series earlier this month surely jolted the Tigers, who for the first time lost a bilateral ODI series against Afghanistan.
Despite the BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon’s reassurance that Tamim would remain the skipper after his hiatus, the opener’s fitness issues, and injury concerns still cast doubts on his return to the team.
“Our World Cup captain is Tamim,” Papon told the reporters on Monday.”Liton [Das] captained the team in the absence of Tamim in the last two matches [against Afghanistan]. Now if Tamim comes back, then he will lead the team and if not, then someone else will lead the team. We are not sure about his return, or which match he will be able to play and when he will be able to play. I cannot make any comments without any knowledge [about Tamim’s return]. But we want him to return as soon as possible with full recovery,” he added.
With Tamim away for his treatment, there has hardly been any communication between the skipper and the team management regarding the plan for the future. And that has only hindered the whole preparation process of the Tigers.
“In reality, we have hardly had any conversation with Tamim regarding the team’s planning for the future right now as he is away for his treatment. He will come back to the country and then meet with the board officials,” a source close to the BCB said, requesting anonymity.
It is now clear that the team management no longer wants to be in murky waters.
“This Asia Cup is very important for us. Any plan that we hatch for the Asia Cup is basically what we will be following in the upcoming World Cup as well. And for that, it would be better for both Tamim and the team that we get a clear picture regarding the Tamim issue. Nothing can be better than getting back a fully fit Tamim to the squad. However, nothing should linger the process of planning so that the team management can make up their mind about how the team should be approaching the World Cup,” the BCB source added.
Bangladesh still have a few positions to sort in the best eleven. One such position is the number seven spot where Afif Hossain has had the nod recently.
Veteran Mahmudullah Riyad might also come into the fold and his potential inclusion into the 30-member squad might create a major talking point.
But as is the case with Tamim, Bangladesh have somewhat been left uncertain, drifting on a sailboat waiting for its leader.
