|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said on Saturday that he believes controversial all-rounder Sabbir Rahman will not repeat similar mistakes as he returns into the national ODI squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand.

The controversy regarding the selection of Sabbir Rahman isn't losing steam with Chief selector Minhajul Abedin and Mashrafe Mortaza coming up with contradictory statements. Sabbir was picked for the tour of New Zealand despite his ban, by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, extending till February 28.

The batsman had been suspended for his off-field issues in September last year after he allegedly threatened a fan on Facebook.

“Sabbir is included in the squad I wish him all the best. I hope he will not repeat the mistakes of his past and perhaps he also understand it,’’ Tamim told reporters on Saturday.

‘’I personally share a lot of things with him. I hope he will return as a different person because his duty is not to perform alone but also fulfill the responsibility as an idol of the young generation,’’ he said.

Tamim added that national cricketers who are performing in BPL will certainly carry some kind of confidence when they fly to New Zealand to play three ODI’s followed by three Test matches.  

“Format is different a bit. But remaining in scores, it will help at any format of games. It will be better if all can back in runs. Our games will be played at different formats, wickets and conditions. It’ll be better if batsmen could play better in one-two matches before travelling to New Zealand.

“I told earlier that it’s a different format. If I say about Taskin, he already got 17 wickets. It will obviously make him confident. Mushfiqur is the second highest run-getter. This will clearly provide a big boost in his confidence. It’s not important to me which format you are playing but if you do well in batting-bowling that will give impetus in your confidence,’’ he added.

Tamim added that he feels sorry for Imrul Kayes as he was dropped following his low score against West Indies despite scoring so heavily against Zimbabwe in the previous ODI that saw him pick two centuries in the three-match series.