Heat will be a major factor: Tamim
Pic: Cricfrenzy.com
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said that they need to be aware of heat as that can turn out to be a mental hurdle to cross in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Bangladesh are tied against Sri Lanka in the opening game and according to weather forecast the mercury is expected to reach 43 degrees Celsius on September 15.
“I think the heat will be a major factor,” Tamim told reporters at team hotel.
“It is likely to turn into a mental game. When you play in high temperatures, the batsman who has played 60-70 balls will feel tired and is prone to a mistake. If he can take a good decision in that weak moment -- in those five, ten seconds -- it will become his advantage,’’ he said
‘’The battle will be within his mind,’’ he said.
Tamim emphasized on mental toughness as they are not used to play in this condition.
“We have to be mentally strong to handle this heat. Normally we don't play cricket in this weather; we do play in the heat in Bangladesh but this is something different. We hope to be a mentally stronger team.” said Tamim.
Tamim said that though they are yet to see the wicket but he prefers batting first if it appears to be batting friendly track.
“It depends on the type of surface we are playing on. If it is a good batting wicket, we would like to bat first. I can only say after I see the wicket,’’ said Tamim.
Tamim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman had the experience of playing in this part of the world due to their participation in Pakistan Premier League, but the left-handed opener said that they were a little different as T20 is a shorter format and the tournaments are held at a different time frame of the year.
