Tamim Iqbal believes Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand will be a completely different ball game following his heroics in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday.
The Bangladesh opener smashed 141 off just 61 deliveries against Dhaka Dynamites to lead Comilla Victorians to their second BPL title.
The left-hander will now turn his attentions to Bangladesh’s upcoming tour of New Zealand which gets underway with the first ODI on February 13 at Napier.
The unbeaten knock of 141 on Friday was Tamim’s maiden BPL ton but the Bangladesh stalwart knows the challenge will be a completely different one against the Kiwis.
“I am not taking any confidence (from this knock for New Zealand). This is a totally different ball game and different surface. Where I am going, there will be different formats, different conditions, and different bowling attack,” the southpaw was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.
Tamim Iqbal struck his maiden BPL ton in the final.
“What I want to do is to maintain the process that I have been following for the past four or five years. I will only have one practice session before the ODIs start and I would like to make it count,” he continued.
Tamim’s sensational knock in the final came against a Dhaka attack including the likes of Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. The left-hander feels that excelling against such a potent bowling attack will hold him in good stead ahead of a busy schedule for the Tigers.
“It’s always good to score some runs and go and it’s a positive. But I know what to do in New Zealand. I hope to perform there because that’s national team duty and that’s the biggest cricket I play,” he said.
“The kind of bowlers Dhaka has, most international team also does not have that kind of attack. If I can perform against them then there is no reason I can’t do it in international cricket. So it teaches me a lot.”
Bangladesh will have to make do without the services of Shakib in New Zealand with the all-rounder ruled out of the tour with a fractured finger. The subcontinent side are scheduled to play five ODIs and three Tests against the Kiwis in their month-long tour.
