While the season might be of FIFA World Cup but it hasn’t stopped Tamim Iqbal from speaking about next year’s World Cup in England. Speaking to ICC’s official page, Tamim Iqbal stated that the World Cup is the biggest event in cricket and that he is really looking forward to taking part in the tournament as Bangladesh had a good Champions Trophy in England in 2017.   

He also added that being in England always makes him feel like home since there are a lot of Bangladeshis in the country, which is one of the reasons why he is always excited when it comes to playing in England.  

"It's the biggest event in cricket and we had a very good Champions Trophy last year. As a team and as an individual, I am really looking forward to playing here.

"England is always special. I always call it home away from home because a lot of Bangladeshis are here. We get a lot of support. Even in the last Champions Trophy when we were playing against England, we had more supporters than England!

"So it really excites me when I get an opportunity to play in England, so I am really looking forward to it."

Speaking about the pressure of playing at the World Cup, Tamim believes that pressure always exists but this time around, the format is going to be harder since the tournament will have a league phase from which the top four teams will go to the next round.

"Pressure is always there, whether you are playing at home or away. You just need to play well. It is a different format this year around, it is a league stage whereas it used to be group stage before.

"I think it is a challenging format for us especially because we need to win at least five to six games to qualify for the semis and I think we are getting ready for that challenge.”

He also added that the important thing now is to do well in the series that Bangladesh play before the World Cup.

"We still have a year to go. I think the series we have left [ before the World Cup begins], we need to play really well to get the confidence to bring into the World Cup.”

Tamim also said that he always plays with the desire to win and that Bangladesh can spring a surprise and win the World Cup when no-one really expects them to – just like how Sri Lanka did in 1996.

"When I come to play, I will always want us to win. I can’t come here with the mindset of not winning the trophy. We can just give our best and let's see where we end up.