Tamim Iqbal high on confidence ahead of series against Australia

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal on Wednesday said that now was time for the team to execute in the middle in the upcoming two-match Test series against Australia, following the thorough preparations. The series opener is set to begin on Sunday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in the national capital, in what will be Australia’s first Test in the country after a decade.

The hosts began their preparation from July 10 to make sure they left no stone unturned as far as grounding is concerned to help them put up a real challenge ahead of the mighty Aussies. Be it physical fitness or skill training, there seems to be no shortage of aggression and enthusiasm as the sub-continental outfit makes it clear that they want to make their presence felt against the traditionally-aggressive Australian Test team, who will go into the series as the stronger side.

“Now it is time to execute,” Tamim told reporters ahead of the series that begins in less than three days. “I think we have covered all areas in our preparation. In the next two days, we are trying to work on the small things that need to be addressed,” he said.

Tamim, however, knows the line between confidence and overconfidence as shown by his admission of the fact that beating the visitors will be an uphill climb considering their strength and ability. He has still warned against writing his team off even before the start of the series, just based on the reputation of the two sides.

“We will have some home advantage,” said the left-hander. “We cannot win before playing consistent cricket for five days session-by-session. At the same time we won’t lose before playing it because we are going to play Australian team,” the 28-year-old added.

Confident of being at par with Australia, this time

Tamim also rubbished the notion that if they play on a spin-friendly track, it would be a merit to the hosts. He mentioned that both teams could suffer on such a surface, more so because both sides have quality spinners in their sides.

“It is not that we come up with a spin track and win the match,” he said. “They have got some quality spinners like Nathan Lyon along with others. So both teams will struggle to score if the wicket is assisting spin bowlers and whoever manage to come up with better skills is likely to win the game,” Iqbal stated.

He claimed that it wasn’t impossible to beat Australia if provided Bangladesh stick to their plans and remember things they practised in the month-long preparation. They have a tendency to spring up surprises, they have repeatedly done so across all formats but their most memorable one remains their maiden Test win against England in Dhaka, last year. He was confident of the Bangladesh team continuing to make quick progress in the longer-version.

“I don’t think it is impossible to beat them. We just need to play to our potential and execute our plans,” Tamim concluded.