Tamim Iqbal, the opening batter for Bangladesh, has shown strong support for the One-Day International format amidst discussions over its survival.
Many cricket fans and ex-players believe that the 50-over format is now experiencing a “slow death” as a direct result of the rise of Twenty20 cricket and the franchise cricket that is linked with it. He recently said that he would no longer play Twenty20 Internationals. The 33-year-old still believes that the ODI format has some value.
Tamim Iqbal said, "ODIs are very important. Everyone likes this format, ODI World Cup is bigger than the T20 World Cup".
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 4, 2022
Since making his one-day international debut in 2007, the left-handed batter has participated in 228 ODIs and is now Bangladesh’s highest run-scorer.
What did Tamim Iqbal say?
Iqbal told the media before the first of three matches in a series against Zimbabwe that he believes one-day internationals are still a crucial part of cricket.
“In my opinion, one-day international is a really significant format. That wasn’t only me who stated it; the ICC did as well. This is a format that everyone enjoys watching matches in. When compared to the other major competitions hosted by the ICC, the Twenty20 World Cup is far less significant than the One-Day International World Cup. Within the sport of cricket, this is a highly significant format,” Iqbal said.
Another landmark for Tamim Iqbal 👏
The opener became the first 🇧🇩 batter to go past 8000 ODI runs 📈
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 5, 2022
Tamim Iqbal has changed his attention to one-day internationals and tests ever since he had a serious knee injury the previous year. He withdrew his participation from the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup, allowing the younger players to compete.
The experienced batsman decided to withdraw from Twenty20 cricket after getting into a pretty contentious argument with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) about his views on the shortest version of the game. The dispute centered on his opinion of how the game should be played.
The recent completion of a clean sweep away from home against the West Indies has contributed to Bangladesh’s strong run of form in one-day internationals (ODIs). The team is currently in second place in the ongoing One-Day International (ODI) World Cup Super League and is in a strong position to directly qualify for the 2023 iteration of the event.
However, the subcontinent team was defeated by Zimbabwe in the three-match Twenty20 International series by a score of 2-1.
