2024-02-28 18:03:57
Ball to ball is played. When Tamim bats, he doesn’t look at who is bowling. Call it good or bad… Cricket is played by looking at the ball, cricket is not played by looking at the face.’
Fortune Barisal coach Mizanur Rahman Babul was saying the words with annoyance in his voice. Late in the BPL, all of a sudden the battles have become personal. On Monday, Fortune Barisal defeated Chittagong Challengers in the second qualifier. Rangpur Riders lost to Comilla Victorians in the second qualifier.
Two superstars of the country in two teams. Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. As their personal relationship has been exposed since the 2023 World Cup, Wednesday’s fight is all about Tamim and Shakib. Those who win the semi-finals will advance to the finals. But with Shakib’s Rangpur last move, the fight began to flow in a different direction.
Rangpur played Afghanistan pacer Fazal Haque Farooqui in the first qualifier. Tamim is going to play in front of Farooqui in the second qualifier. Tamim, who is strong in international cricket, has suffered a lot from the left-arm pacer. Farooqui has had Tamim in all four ODIs he has played against Bangladesh. The left-arm pacer dismissed the left-arm opener four times. Not only out, the superstar of Bangladesh suffered. Farooq scored only 20 runs off 46 balls.
Their fight is undoubtedly creating extra frenzy in BPL matches. Because the plan to deal with this Farooqui all went wrong.
Bangladesh’s first match in the World Cup was against Afghanistan. The team management’s plan was not to let Tamim face Afghanistan pacer Fazal Haque Farooqui. So someone from BCB called him and told him not to play in the match against Afghanistan and to bat later even if he played. Tamim did not take it well at all. Because the coach or the captain will tell him about this plan. But neither Chandika Hathurusinghe nor Shakib Al Hasan told Tamim their plans. Tamim later requested the selectors not to pick him in the World Cup squad.
Farooqui and Tamim’s duel is again adding a different dimension to the BPL stage. Although the coach of Barisal is clear, Tamim will play by watching the ball and not the bowler. And the matter was a long time ago, so he believes that no one will have anything on the field.
‘I think, the matter of Faruqi, that is two years ago. Not in that state anymore. Tamim is also in a very good position. It happened two or three years ago. I see no reason to repeat it now.’
Tamim’s bat is always smiling in BPL. He is the second highest run scorer with 443 runs. Tawheed Hridoy scored 4 runs more than him. Even after retiring from T20 cricket, Tamim is performing with great power. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad also performed in this team. Mushfiq also retired from this format. Mahmudullah performed and returned to the national team.
In the team where star cricketers like Tamim, Mahmudullah, Mushfiq play, their experience is worth a lot. Mizanur, hoping for the best performance from the trio in a match like the ‘semi-final’, said, ‘It is a great achievement for a team that three of Bangladesh’s best cricketers of all time are playing in the same team. Coaching staff makes it much easier to manage a team. They have so much experience… their contribution in building a team is undeniable. From a bad start to where we are now, I give full credit to them. They have inspired the team a lot and are performing themselves.’