T20 World Cup is not as big as the ODI World Cup – Tamim Iqbal calls in the importance of ODIs
At a time when the schedule is filled with the T20Is, there are growing concerns over the importance and significance of the ODIs and the format has received major support from none other than Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal.
The Bangladesh ODI skipper calls the 50-over format “very important” and echoed the same sentiment that was recently called out by the ICC regarding the future of the One-day format.
At a time when the schedule is filled with the T20Is, there are growing concerns over the importance and significance of the ODIs and the format has received major support from none other than Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal.
”I think the ODIs are a very important format. Not only me but the ICC also said it. Everyone likes to see matches in this format,”
said Tamim.
”If you see the big tournaments of the ICC, then the T20 World Cup is not as big as the ODI World Cup. This is a very important format in cricket.”
Bangladesh is currently standing in second place in the ICC Men’s World Cup Super League standings, with a total of 120 points from 18 games, and is very close to confirming their ticket for the direct qualification into the 2023 World Cup in India.
However, the upcoming ODI series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are not part of the ICC Super League.
Ahead of the three-match T20I series which Bangladesh lost to the same opponent by 2-1, Tamim has urged his side to not take Zimbabwe as a light opponent and look on to their mistakes.
”If we consider the strength of the two teams, we are ahead but in cricket, the team that will perform on a particular day wins the game. Zimbabwe won in the T20Is against us because they played better than us. It remains the same here as well and if we want to beat them, we have to play our best cricket. In their own conditions, they are a very dangerous side,”
Tamim told reporters at Harare on Thursday.
”We have to rectify our mistakes while doing the thing that we did right so far. The main thing is that we have to maintain our process so that we can do well even in tough conditions,”
he said.
Tamim is having a good time in scoring runs as a leader, having won five series before coming to Zimbabwe. The winning streak started when Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka on its own home ground.
He then guided his side to a victory against Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the West Indies in their home grounds for the last year alongside beating Afghanistan at their home. However, the left-hander is not ready to take anything for granted.