Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin expressed his confidence in young opener Tanzid Tamim to come good in the Asia Cup 2023 in the absence of experienced Tamim Iqbal. The 22-year-old made it into the squad for the continental event after his brilliant performance in the recently concluded Emerging Asia Cup.
Tamim Iqbal will not be part of the Bangladesh team due to the injury which will be a big blow for their team going into the Asia Cup, the Southpaw has been a stalwart of the team since 2007, playing an important role in their team’s win and the veteran is also the leading run-scorer for Bangladesh in International Cricket.
Speaking to the media, BCB selector Minhajul Abedin said that they are confident about the ability of Tanzid Tamim as he has been in the reckoning for the team’s selection and added that Shamim Hossain has done well in the recent T20 series and expects him to come good in the ODI cricket.
“The selection panel is very confident in Tanzid Tamim because we are nursing him in the HP Unit for a long time and he did well in the Emerging Cup and we are expecting him to deliver for the country.
“Shamim was in the High-Performance Unit since coming from the Under-19. After the 2021 T20 World Cup, his performance declined but he has overcome it with each series and did well in the last T20 series and we are confident that he has the capabilities to do well and so have picked him,” Minhajul Abedin said.
Bangladesh will be going into the Asia Cup 2023 as one of the favourites as the team has got some quality players on the side, with their experience can come in handy in Asian conditions. They have defeated many high-quality opponents in their home conditions in recent times and they will be full of confidence going into the continental event.
Taijul Islam Is An Attacking Spinner While Nasum Ahmed Is A Defensive Spinner – Minhajul Abedin
Minhajul Abedin said that they had a discussion regarding the spinner spot in the team for the Asia Cup 2023 and revealed that they have preferred to go with Nasum Ahmed in the team as he provides a defensive option in India, whereas Taijul Islam is a more attacking option.
“Taijul is an attacking spinner while Nasum is a defensive spinner. We went for Nasum as the Asia Cup will be played in Sri Lanka and Pakistan where the wicket is expected to be flat so we feel a defensive bowler is very important and that is the reason we included Nasum,” Minhajul Abedin added.
Bangladesh squad for Asia Cup 2023: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das, Tanzid Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Sheikh Mahedi, Nasum Ahmed, Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Mohammad Naim