The boundary that brought up Tamim Iqbal’s century against Oman a week ago was more than just a hundred. Moments of grandeur and celebration have been few and far between for Bangladesh ever since they seriously took up cricket. As Tamim ran with his helmet off, one could sense the emotions cluttering his brain. The crowd joined his celebrations, and back home, a passionate few must have had tears of joy welling up in their eyes.
Tamim is not the most eloquent of cricketers from his nation, but when he says, “I was too excited, so I did everything possible”, you know he is choking with joy. He is not Virat Kohli; he doesn’t get to make runs day in and day out, so whatever he accumulates is special – earned with blood, sweat, and intense passion.
A man of big occasions
But Tamim has always been a man of big occasions. He was instrumental in knocking India out of the tournament in the 2007 World Cup, scored two centuries in as many Tests against England in 2010, won matches single-handedly for his country against Pakistan and South Africa in 2015.
Success, like always, has had its fair share of failures preceding it. Every decent knock has come at the expense of a period of frustration and low scores. There have been times when the bulk of responsibilities for Bangladesh’s failures have been dumped on him. Fortunately for Tamim, his indomitable spirit has helped him tide over many such situations.
Tamim would have probably slid off the radar for good had he not struck four consecutive half-centuries in the 2012 Asia Cup that witnessed Bangladesh progressing to the final against all expectations. He had been dropped initially from the squad prior to the tournament and it had taken a dramatic resignation from selector (and Tamim’s uncle) Akram Khan and an intervention by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to bring him back into the fold.
Born with a silver spoon, Tamim is no alien to pampering. It is almost impossible to walk through Cox’s Bazar without hearing an anecdote or two about the Khans of Chittagong. One such anecdote revolves around how his father Iqbal used to organize cricket tournaments in Chittagong so that Tamim could play against quality opponents.
A new star is born
His bursting into the scene in 2007 was barely surprising for those who ardently follow Bangladesh cricket. Playing for the Under-19s towards the end of 2005, the opener had scored a breathtaking 112 off 71 deliveries against England. It had been this innings that had catapulted him to national fame and had begun his love story with England – a fairy tale of five fifty-plus scores in six Test innings with a 103 at Lord’s in May 2010.
For the older generations of Bangladesh, Tamim’s straight six off Zaheer Khan which culminated into a match-winning half-century against India in the 2007 World Cup was reminiscent of Akram Khan’s much eulogized unbeaten 68 against the Netherlands in a crucial ICC Trophy encounter in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. Tamim was considered an exciting prospect – one that, unlike many, was here to stay.
He wouldn’t disappoint, or so it had seemed. After being prolific with the willow in 2010 – a year that saw him being named Wisden Cricketer of the Year, the 22-year-old slumped to agonizing lows, come 2011.
The gradual fading away
He managed a paltry aggregate of 58 in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe and averaged 31.40 in the five-match ODI series. Bangladesh succumbed to an unexpected series loss and Tamim was sacked as vice-captain.
Signed up by the Wellington Firebirds for the HRV Cup in October 2012, Tamim enjoyed a brief stint with the New Zealand domestic side coached by former Bangladesh national coach Jamie Siddons. By the following January, he was supposed to have returned as a battle-hardened soldier waiting to lead Bangladesh’s attack.
Sessions with his favorite coach were expected to have rectified his feet movement. The change in technique was undeniably visible although its effectiveness remained a question to be answered in the following Bangladesh Premier League and the tour to Sri Lanka.
As it turned out, the solution to his lean patch had been a temporary one, for runs refused to flow from his bat on most occasions, and when they did, Tamim ensured that a juvenile dismissal would eclipse everything. With his place in the side coming under the scanner every now and then, the fear of losing yet another Bangladesh talent prematurely to the chasms of oblivion seemed very real.
The long-due resurgence
Two years later, Bangladeshi fans witnessed the renaissance of Tamim Iqbal Khan during the Pakistan series post-World Cup. He was now spending more time at the crease adapting and gathering his confidence, instead of looking to score right from the beginning.
A 135-ball 132 in the first ODI was followed by another ton in the next – both coming in victorious occasions. A century-less period of two years was effectively put to rest with some brutal strokeplay, handsome cover drives, and flat sixes. Much to the nation’s relief, the promise of seven years was finally beginning to be realized.
Series victories against India and South Africa will go down in history not as strokes of luck, but as fruits of Bangladesh’s stubborn resistance, of which cricketers like Tamim have been a prominent part. And if his exploits against Oman in the World T20 qualifiers are anything to go by, the world is certainly in for a surprise or two from Tamim this time.
The transformation from a pampered hot-head who could not take criticism to a mature, modified version of the old talent has been neither quick nor easy. The veteran of 295 international caps turns 27 today, but he is already Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer in all the formats.
Too many cricketers have flattered to deceive on too many occasions. For a country where talent is scarce and longevity among cricketers pitiful, the refusal to believe in something too good is understandable – it will be heartbreaking to find Tamim falling midway on the road he has embarked upon.
Optimism, however, remains alive in the man himself: “Whatever six-seven-eight years I play I should leave a tough task for the next guy to get, which will someday happen. That will be good for Bangladesh cricket.”
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