Bangladesh’s Tamim denies rift with Shakib

Bangladesh one-day worldwide captain Tamim Iqbal denied on Sunday there was a schism within the crew and insisted his relationship with main all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was “very normal”.

“Our team environment has been good for a number of years. A happy dressing room allows one to achieve the type of results that you are seeing,” Tamim instructed reporters at a news convention in Dhaka.

“I think everything is very normal.”

The top-order batsman’s feedback got here after Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan urged to the web site  Cricbuzz that the atmosphere within the dressing room was not “healthy”.

“The biggest problem for Bangladesh cricket at the moment is this grouping, and that is the reality. I don’t have a problem with anything else,” Nazmul instructed the web site.

The BCB chief stated he had tried to handle a factional dispute between Shakib and Tamim however discovered it tough.

“It’s not that I have not tried to sort it out. I have spoken with both of them, and I felt that it is not easy to settle the issues at the moment,” he stated.

Tamim and Shakib have been teammates since their formative days within the mid-2000s and have at instances been thought-about shut associates.

Tamim captains the Bangladesh ODI aspect, whereas Shakib is on the helm of the Test and Twenty20 worldwide groups.

Tamim stated efficiency on the pitch was what mattered.

“The important thing when Shakib and I put on the Bangladesh jersey is whether we are giving our best and whether we are helping each other. When we are leading the teams, nothing else matters,” he stated on the media briefing forward of the three-match ODI sequence towards England.

“Whatever anyone is saying, whether we have coffee together, these things don’t matter.”

Tamim will lead Bangladesh within the three-match ODI sequence towards England subsequent week and stated he anticipated to play on “true wickets” — though the hosts typically supply visiting sides low and sluggish pitches, particularly these from exterior the sub-continent.

“We have been discussing playing better on true wickets. You will see a reflection of our thinking,” he stated.

“It is a step forward. We are expecting mostly batting-friendly wickets in the World Cup.”

The tour will kick off with two ODIs at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday and Friday, earlier than the third and closing encounter at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on March 6.

Chittagong will then host the primary Twenty20 worldwide match on March 9 earlier than the groups return to the capital for the remaining two video games on March 12 and 14.