Youngsters Have Plenty to Prove on ‘Challenging’ Sri Lanka Tour: Tamim

Stand-in skipper Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal said on Saturday that he believes Sri Lanka will present a tough challenge in home conditions and said his side will have a lot to prove in the series.

After a decent show in the ICC World Cup 2019, Bangladesh will be reasonably confident of their chances in the upcoming ODI series in Sri Lanka.

But with the likes of Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib al Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin and Liton Das missing out, either through injury or personal reasons, the team appears short on experience.

"I think the series is very important and who are travelling with the team have a lot to prove because a lot of experienced cricketers are not going due to injury and other personal reasons," Tamim said

"This series will be challenging. Sri Lanka is a very strong team at home but we have done well in the past so there is no reason why we can't do it this time.”

Tamim’s form during the World Cup was underwhelming but the opening batsman is not worried about the added pressures of leading the side.

"I did not think [that leading the side will be an added pressure]. I could not play to my expectation [in the World Cup], but there is a new challenge ahead and I am hoping something good will happen, let's see.

"If you think about your failure all the time then you are likely to fail again, so I am thinking what is ahead instead of what had passed by.

“I am trying to figure out the positives now and what I am saying is that this series is very important and we are hoping to do well as a team," he concluded.