Difficult to fill Mashrafe Mortaza’s shoes, reckons Tamim Iqbal

Tamim Iqbal was recently announced as the new ODI skipper of Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal was recently announced as the new ODI skipper of Bangladesh

Mashrafe Mortaza has been one of Bangladesh's finest skippers across all three formats. After the Zimbabwe series, he stepped down from captaincy and Tamim Iqbal was named as the new skipper of the Bangla Tigers.

Bangladesh recently won the two-match T20I series against Zimbabwe and also whitewashed them in the three-match ODI series. With Mortaza stepping down, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced Iqbal as Bangladesh's new ODI skipper on March 8.

The newly-appointed captain believes that it is very difficult to emulate what Mortaza has done as a skipper for Bangladesh.

“I am lucky that I have a close relationship with him. I saw him from close quarters, and we have played a lot together,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Iqbal as saying.

Mortaza captained his country to 50 ODI wins, which is no mean feat, and his successor understands his importance as a valuable advisor. Iqbal is also excited about the opportunity he's got and is hopeful of starting a fresh new era in the history of Bangladesh cricket.

“I know how he (Mortaza) thinks and I can take as much as I can. But, those are very difficult shoes to fill straightaway. I hope that I will take the positives from him. If I face trouble, he will be the first person that I will call to take advice,” said Iqbal.

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Edited by Anurag Sharma