'We could have handled it better': Tamim Iqbal on Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup pull out

New Delhi: Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal is embracing a new challenge as Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) interim president, installed by an ad-hoc committee earlier this year. In a free-wheeling chat with TimesofIndia.com, Tamim speaks candidly about how a heart attack pushed him towards administration, his vision for improving Bangladesh cricket’s image, and the changing dynamics of the global game.

The former opener also discusses Bangladesh’s impressive rise in fast bowling, the importance of protecting Test cricket amid the T20 boom, concerns around T20 leagues, and the much-anticipated India-Bangladesh series. Tamim believes Bangladesh pulling out from the T20 World Cup earlier this year, has tarnished the country's reputation and he feels cricket must always come first - - regardless of off-field complications.


Excerpt...
How are you adjusting to your new role and how different is it from facing the new ball?
Very, very different, but this is what I wanted. I wanted to fix things. When I was playing for the last 17-18 years with all my colleagues, the things we were always complaining about as players, I want to fix all those things so that the players do not have those complaints anymore. I know very well that I cannot do everything, but I am pretty sure that I can do enough so that Bangladesh cricket improves in terms of facilities.

Batting, bowling or fielding is not my job now. I cannot bat, neither can I bowl, but I am pretty sure that I can help the players by giving them the best possible facilities available so that they can improve by two, three or five per cent. That is what I am aiming for.

I think in the recent past, the reputation damage Bangladesh cricket has gone through has not been great. In Bangladesh cricket means a lot to people and they take a lot of pride in it. I need to bring that pride back, so that is what I am trying to do.

You spoke about Bangladesh's reputation, do you think Bangladesh pulling out of the T20 World Cup was the wrong call?

We could have handled the situation better. We could have had mature discussions and found a way. Cricket should never suffer.

When did you decide to move to the other side of the table?
The heart attack was the trigger point for me. I had a heart attack last year, when I was trying to make a comeback in the national team. And when I had the heart attack, I thought that was it. After a heart attack, I do not think it was worth it for me because even if I played, I would have only played for another year or two. I have a very young family and maybe I was not ready to come back to cricket.
Will we see an India vs Bangladesh series in the near future after the relations were affected preceding the T20 World Cup?
There is a scheduled series against India later this year. I am very hopeful that India will come and play the whole series. This is one bilateral series that the people of Bangladesh really enjoy watching. They come to the ground and there is healthy competition. Bangladesh did really well in the last series against India. Whenever these two nations play, especially when India travel to Bangladesh, it is always very high-intensity cricket.

I am very hopeful. Issues will always be there and it is the responsibility of the cricket boards to solve them. We have a new cricket board now, an ad hoc committee has been placed, and I am sure communication and dialogue will happen. At the end of the day, cricket should win. Regardless of anything else, cricket should always win and that is what I am going to work towards.

I do not think India and Bangladesh cricketing relations have any issues. If there are any, we can always discuss and solve them. I am very hopeful that India will travel to Bangladesh.

The Test series win against Pakistan. First Bangladesh defeated Pakistan away and now at home. How do you rate this win?
If you followed the Test matches against Pakistan, both surfaces were sporting wickets. Bangladesh produced green, grassy wickets in both Tests. That shows the change in mentality. It would have been very easy for Bangladesh to go back to spinning tracks and try to get a series win, but we prepared green tops and that is the change in mentality I want to see in Bangladesh cricket.

We need to start doing well at home first, especially in Test cricket. We need to make it a fortress. Yes, we have done well in T20s and ODIs at home, but in Test cricket we still have not ticked that box. Obviously, we also want to win games overseas because the confidence of winning Test matches at home will be massive.

Could you talk about the shift in Bangladesh's mentality, especially in the fast bowling department?
I watched this very closely because I was playing at that time. I think a lot of credit should go to then captain Mominul Haque. I still remember in first-class games he used to make sure that the fast bowlers bowled the maximum overs. I remember one first-class game because he and I used to play for the same team, and I went to him and said we could easily bowl spinners. He said, “No, if I do not make these fast bowlers bowl now, how are they going to learn? Regardless of whether they are doing well or not, we need fast bowlers in the national team and they need to bowl as much as possible.”

I think he was the main guy who changed the fast bowling unit. He gave maximum importance to the fast bowlers and made sure that they bowled maximum overs in domestic and international cricket. When the fast bowlers started getting success, domestic players and young kids started believing that even in Bangladesh you can become a fast bowler, get success and become a superstar. A lot of credit must go to Mominul Haque and, along the way, coaches like Allan Donald and Ottis Gibson also played a big part.

What is the future of cricket with so many global leagues and do you think ODI cricket will find space in this packed calendar, or will the 2027 ODI World Cup be the last?
Cricket’s dynamics have definitely changed.

About 50-over cricket, the ODI World Cup is still the biggest event in cricket. Yes, there is a lot of interest in T20 cricket and T20 cricket has been doing really well, but I am sure we need to find a way to balance it out. There are a lot of leagues around the world now. Even associate nations are coming up with T20 leagues.

We need to find a way where everything is balanced. If there is ever a discussion on this, I am sure everybody will have their own opinion. At the end of the day, we need to save Test cricket because it is the most respected format and there is still a lot of interest in it. You might not see big crowds in a few countries, but there are still countries where stadiums are packed for Test cricket. We need to make those things a bit more interesting.

Let’s take the example of Nahid Rana. If tomorrow a franchise, which has teams in five or six different leagues, gives a lucrative contract to the youngster and asks him to avoid red-ball cricket and become a globe-trotter, do you think it is easy for youngsters nowadays to focus on international cricket and ignore T20 leagues where they can make ten times more money?
There is one thing money cannot buy and that is the passion for playing for your country. If that was the case, 80 percent of cricketers could have gone that way. I have the utmost respect for franchise cricket, but when you play for your nation and your country, that is something you cannot buy.


Even in your country, superstars can get massive offers, but they still play for the country. These are things that come from your heart when you play for your nation.

If I have to compare it with football, players are getting paid millions and millions of dollars, but when there is an opportunity to play for their country, they still go and play. There are certain things money cannot buy and playing for your country will never change. Yes, there will be exceptions and a few cricketers might go that way, but if you ask me about the majority, I do not think that is going to change.

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