Bangladesh opening batsman and senior campaigner Tamim Iqbal, following his grit and determination, is looking forward to becoming the best in the world with Willow, as he believes he has learned the niceties of the game at the international stage.
“Becoming the best batsman in the world is my goal,” Iqbal told Espncrinfo.
The 28-year-old top-order batsman has shown a lot of cricketers while featuring in his 50th Test in which he smashed twin fifties to lead the side from the front with the bat.
“I think I am much more focused and I know what I am doing in training. The training part was the key and when I stick to the purpose that has been really good for me,” Iqbal reiterated.
The Chittagong-born left-handed batsman has been one of the cornerstones for Bangladesh Cricket, as he has been among runs following the 2015 World Cup.
“I am just trying take it easy in the game and concentrate. When I am getting a start, I always make sure to score some good runs,” Iqbal revealed about his future plan.
Iqbal believes a lot of cricket for Bangladesh has brought quality improvement on the side.
“I think last two years have been great, we have been playing lot of cricket. And the coming years will be even better,” Iqbal added.
Rising to the occasion, Iqbal is keen to break into the Top 10 in the Rankings before achieving the milestone while giving his hundred per cent on the field for the Tigers.
“The first target is to be in the Top 10 that I haven’t achieved yet. And then If I can be able to achieve the position then I will take on from there,” Iqbal maintained.
It’s pertinent to mention, the two-match series between the hosts Bangladesh and Australia finished tied at one all which further saw Iqbal scoring fifties in the first Test.
“Those 70+ runs in both the innings at the end looked very crucial. I could have loved to score a hundred at least one of them and that is how cricket goes,” Iqbal further added.
While talking about the victory over Steven Smith-led Australia in the Dhaka Test, Iqbal believes the patience and partnership hold key when wicket had a lot on offer for the slow bowlers.
“Now, it looks very important after how the wicket was behaving. I think I tried my best even after we lost some early wickets in the first innings. And me and Shakib [Al Hasan] had a very good partnership,” Iqbal said.
(Read Further: Upbeat Tamim Iqbal Equals Habibul Bashar’s Record of Most Fifties for a Bangladeshi)
While talking about one of the best victories, Iqbal revealed so far thrashing Australia has been one of the quality wins during his decade-old cricketing career.
“One of them and I won’t say it is the most… but definitely it’s up there… Beating Australia anywhere is not that easy. The way we played cricket against them was something to [watch out for],” excited Tamim said while being interviewed at his home.
Owing to the mindset, Tamim shows the unwavering faith and hard work has paid the rich dividends in his favor, as he has been mentally prepared for the game.
“I have been scoring quite a few runs in last two-and-half-years and I think the main change was in my mental [set-up],” Iqbal recalled.
Concluding, and adamant in Iqbal stated he was severely ridiculed for failing to perform in the recent past while expressing the satisfaction for his overall performance across all three formats of the game.
“I have been criticized and that’s how it’s in cricket… the good thing is I’ve taken a lesson out of it. I hope if I ever fell in that [precarious] situation again I will handle it better,” Iqbal concluded.
Tamim played 173 ODIs, 51 Tests and 56 T20Is after making his International debut in 2007.