||Desk Report||

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said that they will not be driven by any desire for revenge when they come up against their former coach Chandika Hathurusinghe in the Asia Cup opener in Dubai on Saturday.

According to Tamim, the Tigers only feel affection towards their ex-coach, who is now in charge of Sri Lanka.

The tournament’s opening fixture pits his new side against his most recent employers, as Sri Lanka open their account against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium.

Hathurusinghe left his role at the Bangladesh national team amid some acrimony at the end of 2017, and was then placed in charge of Sri Lanka, whom he had previously represented as a player.

He was reportedly critical of the attitude of a number of Bangladesh’s senior players. Tamim, however, says the players retain a good relationship with him.

“We have shared some fantastic moments with him,” Tamim was quoted as saying by The National, a local newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.

“When you have had a coach who has worked with you for four or five years, there will be some ups and downs.

“But whatever he has done for the team and for the country has been fantastic. No-one can take that away from him, and we all have a very good relationship with him,” he added.

Tamim thinks that instead of thinking to beat an individual, the Tigers should concentrate on beating the team as the earlier plan just might not work for them.