Tamim Iqbal reveals who he blames for Test series defeat
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has revealed that the only people to blame for Bangladesh’s catastrophic Test series defeat at the hands of West Indies is no-one but themselves.
The Tigers were absolutely dismantled by the hosts as they couldn’t muster even 200 runs in the four innings that they batted in the Caribbean. As a result, Tamim Iqbal maintained that the batsmen were not up to the mark despite the fact that the wicket in the second Test was a good track to bat on.
"What happened here, there's nothing to explain," Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. "We only have ourselves to blame. Our batting was not up to the mark. We were playing on difficult wickets but these were not unplayable.
“There were exceptional deliveries but it wasn't so bad that we couldn't get 200 in any innings. Even today, we weren't going to make 330 or 340 but it was a really good wicket to bat on. If we could have been in the contest longer, it would have been an interesting game."
The dashing opener then went to state that the only difference here was that the hosts use the Duke ball, something the Bangladeshis haven’t played with in the last four years. He also added that the Tigers were mentally outplayed by the hosts rather than technically.
"The only thing that was different here was the Duke ball which we were playing [with] after four years," Tamim stated. “It swings and seams more than the Kookaburra ball, but that's the only difference. But it is not an excuse for our bad performance.
"I think it was more mental than technical. The top six here had similar dismissals. I think we were prepared enough for tackling swing and bounce, but you can't really prepare for a seaming track where the ball is cutting."
Tamim Iqbal, who has been Bangladesh’s most successful batsman on foreign conditions in recent years, stated that the important thing on these type of pitches was to spend a lot of time and be patient.
He also regretted the fact that the Bangladesh batters couldn’t keep the West Indian fielders on the ground for 60-70 overs as it could have worn them down a lot.
"I have played in different conditions in New Zealand and South Africa. In these wickets, you have to spend a lot of time," Tamim said. "You can't play a big shot early. But I think our biggest downfall was not being able to keep them on the field for 60-70 overs at a stretch. Their pace bowlers were playing five back-to-back Tests, so they would have been tired.
"If we could have stretched the game longer, we could have cashed in. We all know there are difficult phases and easy periods in Test matches. We never gave ourselves that chance. We got all out in less than 20 overs in the first innings in Antigua and here it was no different. We got bowled out in 40-45 overs."
Tamim Iqbal was also particularly disturbed with his own performances. He was able to muster only 64 runs in four innings in the Caribbean and stated that he, as a senior player, should have done much better.
"I haven't failed like this since 2014 so it is shocking to me regardless of how other people feel about my performance," he stated. "I know that I have to be better at coping with this kind of thing.
"From a personal point of view, I would say three out of my four dismissals were very good deliveries. But having said that, I should have handled it differently. I am a senior cricketer from whom people expect runs."
Bangladesh will now move on to play in their favoured 50-over format against the Windies and Tamim Iqbal hopes that it would suit them and help them curb their poor run of form. He also, however, warned against completely forgetting their dismal Test series prior to future Test assignments.
"A different format would suit us but we are going in with bad rhythm," he said. "We have four-five days to forget the Test series and rebuild for the ODIs. But I think we shouldn't forget it completely. We should keep in mind how we did, before our next Test series."
The ODI series will begin on the 22nd of July at the Providence Stadium in Guyana as Bangladesh will look to salvage some pride in a format where they have been relatively successful over the last three years.
