Tamim wants to test bench strength in dead rubber

Bangladesh One-Day International captain Tamim Iqbal said that he will test the bench strength against West Indies on Saturday as the Tigers have already sealed the series 2-0.

After their poor showing in the Test and Twenty20 Internationals, Bangladesh bounced back in their favourite format with their spin attack and earned an easy victory over the hosts on Wednesday by nine wickets.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nasum Ahmed restricted West Indies to 108 runs, and Bangladesh comfortably chased down the target in just 20.4 overs by losing only Najmul Hasan Shanto’s wicket.

Tamim got his 53rd half-century in ODIs and remained unbeaten. After the match, the left-handed opener said that he wants to give an opportunity to the cricketers who were benched in the previous two matches.

“We must observe our bench strength. This is one thing which we do rarely in Bangladesh cricket. Obviously, we want to win every match, but sometimes it is also important to test the bench, especially in ODIs,” the captain said after the match.

“You never know that in the middle of an important series, two of the key players might get injured. It will be very difficult for the one who will come as a replacement,” added Tamim.

As the ongoing ODI series is not part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, Tamim is willing to try out players like Anamul Haque, Ebadot Hossain, and Taijul Islam, who are yet to feature in the playing XI in this series.

“I think it’s time to test the bench strength. Normally when qualification points are involved, then there is no scope for experiments. But when we are playing such a series (which is not part of the ODI Super League), and we are 2-0 up, we should give chances to those who are not playing for a long time or have been part of the team for a number of tours but did not get chance due to team combination,” Tamim told the media after the match at Guyana.

The skipper said he was ready to sacrifice his spot to accommodate someone.

“If I need to miss one match to give a chance to the benchwarmers, I will do it. In the next match, you will see many of the cricketers who haven’t played yet,” Tamim told the reporters.

If Tamim takes a rest in the third ODI of the series against West Indies, Anamul might get a chance to play again in ODI after 2019. The right-handed opener had a record-breaking season in the Dhaka Premier League which earned him a sudden call-up in the Test and T20I squad due to the injury of Yasir Ali. Despite scoring his runs in the 50-over format, Anamul is yet to return in the format, and might in the final ODI.

Yasir is not the only absentee for Bangladesh in this series as they are also missing Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. Shakib took a leave from this series after playing the Test and T20I series, while Mushfiq took a leave from the whole tour to perform Hajj.