Tamim Iqbal: If Bangladesh wants to do well in ICC tournaments, preparations must begin at least two years before

While Bangladesh finished as the semifinalist in the Champions Trophy in 2017, its track record in the ICC events went downhill over the last seven years as the team failed to reach the knockout stage of a world event.

Tamim has featured in 387 international outings for Bangladesh across formats in his 17-year-long career. | Photo Credit: AFP

When Bangladesh reached the quarterfinals of the ODI World Cup in 2015, it was considered a landmark moment in the country’s cricketing history.

As the expectations soared, the cricket fraternity predicted that things would only change for the better after that.

While it finished as the semifinalist in the Champions Trophy in 2017, its track record in the ICC events went downhill over the last seven years as the team failed to reach the knockout stage of a world event.

Tamim Iqbal, the erstwhile captain, believes that if Bangladesh wants to fare well in the ICC tournament, the preparation should begin at least two years before the event.

“The people at the top need to have a clear plan in terms of what they want to achieve. The captain wants to win the trophy, the coach wants to win the trophy, but the question is - does the Board want it, too?” Tamim said, adding that “everything needs to be perfect in terms of vision, facilities.”

Tamim, who is now in India as a commentator for the ongoing Test series, also drew the Indian team’s reference. “In India, you can praise Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli as much as you can, but had the BCCI not been that strong, the team wouldn’t have achieved so much,” he said.

Last month, when Faruque Ahmed took charge, he became the first BCB president to have played any competitive cricket. How beneficial will it be to have a former cricketer at the helm of the Board?

Tamim, who has featured in 387 international outings across formats in his 17-year-long career, believes it’s too early to make a statement. “Look, there are ifs and buts to it. In the previous BCB regime, there were three former captains involved in the administration. Did the last Board do everything wrong? No, they also did a lot of good things, you cannot deny that,” he said.

“I might have had issues with two or three people at the BCB, but that does not mean that they don’t have any achievements. This time, the president is also a cricketer, so you have to give him a certain period of time and then judge…”

Watch out for the full interview.