‘We could have handled it better’: Tamim Iqbal on Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup withdrawal

New Delhi: Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal faces a new challenge as the interim president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), who was appointed by an ad hoc committee earlier this year. In a freewheeling conversation with TimesofIndia.com, Tamim speaks candidly about how the heart attack pushed him into management, his vision for improving the image of cricket in Bangladesh, 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 over T20 leagues, and the much-anticipated India-Bangladesh series. Tamim believes Bangladesh’s withdrawal from the T20 World Cup earlier this year has tarnished the country’s reputation and feels cricket should always come first – regardless of off-field complications.

Excerpts… How are you adjusting to your new role and how different is it from facing the new ball?Very different, but that’s what I wanted. I wanted to fix things. When I’ve been playing for the last 17 or 18 years with all my teammates, one of the things we’ve always complained about as players is, I want to fix all those things so players don’t have those complaints anymore. I know very well that I cannot do everything, but I am quite sure that I can do enough to improve Bangladesh cricket in terms of facilities.

Batting, bowling or fielding is not my job now. I can’t bat, I can’t bowl, but I’m pretty sure I can help the players by giving them the best possible facilities available so that they can improve by 2, 3 or 5 per cent. This is what I aim for. I think in the recent past, the damage to the reputation of Bangladesh cricket was not that great. Cricket in Bangladesh means a lot to the people and they take a lot of pride in it.

I need to get that pride back, and that’s what I’m trying to do.You talked about Bangladesh’s reputation, do you think Bangladesh’s withdrawal from the T20 World Cup was a wrong decision?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 a trigger point for me. I had a heart attack last year when I was trying to get back into the national team.

When I had a heart attack, I thought that was it. After having a heart attack, I don’t think it was worth it for me because even if I had played, I would have only played for another year or two. I have a very young family and was probably not ready to return to cricket.Will we see a India vs Bangladesh Series in the near future after relations were affected before the T20 World Cup?There is a series scheduled against India later this year. I very much hope India comes and plays the entire series. This is a duo series that the people of Bangladesh really enjoy watching.

They hit the ground running and there is healthy competition. Bangladesh performed really well in the last series against India. When these two countries play, especially when India travels to Bangladesh, it is always a high-intensity game of cricket.

I am very optimistic. Problems will always be there and it is the responsibility of cricket boards to solve them. We now have a new cricket board, an ad hoc committee has been set up, and I’m sure communication and dialogue is happening.

Ultimately, cricket must win. No matter what, cricket must always win, and that is what I will strive to achieve.I don’t think cricket relations between India and Bangladesh have any problems. If there are any, we can always discuss and solve them. I am very optimistic that India will travel to Bangladesh.

Test series win over Pakistan. First Bangladesh defeated Pakistan away from home and now at home. How do you evaluate this win?If you follow the Test matches against Pakistan, both surfaces were sporting wickets. Bangladesh produced green grass wickets in both Tests.

This indicates a change in mentality. It would have been very easy for Bangladesh to get back on the spin tracks and try to get the 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 matches abroad because the confidence in winning Test matches at home will be huge.

Can you talk about the shift in Bangladeshi mentality, especially in the fast bowling department?I watched this closely because I was playing at the time. I think a lot of credit should go to Commander Mominul Haq. I still remember in first-class games he would make sure that the fast bowlers bowled maximum overs. I remember one first-class match because we used to play in the same team, and I went up to him and said we could easily bowl the spinner.

He said: “No, if I don’t make these fast bowlers now, how will they learn? Regardless of whether they do 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 man who changed the fast bowling unit. He gave utmost importance to fast bowlers and ensured that they bowled maximum overs in domestic and international cricket. When fast bowlers started to achieve success, local players and young children started to believe that even in Bangladesh, you can become a fast bowler, and… Achieve success and become a star.

A lot of credit must go to Mominul Haque, and along the way, coaches like Alan Donald and Otis Gibson have played a big role as well.

What is the future of cricket with so many international leagues and do you think ODI cricket will find space in this crowded calendar, or will the 2027 ODI World Cup be the last?The dynamics of cricket have certainly changed.Around 50 cricket matches, the ODI World Cup remains the biggest event in cricket. Yes, there is a lot of interest in T20 cricket and T20 cricket has done really well, but I’m sure we need to find a way to balance that. There are a lot of leagues around the world now.

Even associated nations are innovating T20 leagues.We need to find a way where everything is balanced. If there was any discussion about this, I’m sure everyone would have their own opinion. Ultimately, we need to save Test cricket because it is the most respected format and there is still a lot of interest in it. You may not see large crowds in a few countries, but there are still countries where stadiums are packed for Test cricket.

We need to make these things more interesting.

Let’s take an example Nahid Rana. If a franchise, with teams in five or six different leagues, gives a young man a lucrative contract and asks him to avoid red-ball cricket and become a world traveler, do you think it is easier for youngsters these days to focus on international cricket and ignore the T20 leagues where they can earn ten times more money?One thing money can’t buy is the passion to play for your country. If that were the case, 80% of cricketers would have gone that route. I have the utmost respect for franchise cricket, but when you play for your nation and your country, that’s something you can’t buy.

Even in your country, stars can get huge offers, but they are still playing for their country.

These are the things that come from your heart when you play for your country.If I have to compare it to football, players get 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 can’t 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 don’t think that will change.