Tamim Iqbal 'disappointed' at losing 10 ODI Super League points even Bangladesh clinch ODI series

Bangladesh won their first bilateral series against Sri Lanka but skipper Tamim Iqbal has chosen to not overlook the flaws in his side after the loss in the third and final ODI of the series. He expressed disappointment although his side won the series and pointed out that the Bangladesh ODI side has a lot to do in near future irrespective of a win in the series against Sri Lanka.

"I am disappointed. If we forget everything just because we won the series, it is the same thing when we come and say after a series loss that we have a lot of work to do. I will say the same thing after this series win: we have a lot to improve on,” Tamim said in the post-match press conference.

Apart from the flaws in the game itself, Tamim was also unhappy at letting go of 10 points which he said can come back to hurt his side in future as the ICC ODI super League has made every series relevant. Every game of the series accounted for 10 points each and while Bangladesh pocketed 20 points on the back of wins in the first two games, Sri Lanka bounced back strongly to claim 10 in the last game of the series.

He emphasized the need for improvement in the fielding department after lapses in the last ODI while also lamented the underuse of the potential in the bowling department.

"You never know, these ten points could bother us later. The ICC ODI Super League is not like a typical bilateral series. When we had the opportunity, we should have finished it properly. We won the series, but I don't think we played really well. We bowled well, but we have more potential in our batting unit. Fielding was okay in the first two matches, but it was the same-old fielding today. We [dropped] important catches at important times,” Tamim reckoned.

However, in the face of disappointment and urge for improvements, Tamim did not criticise players by their names and instead backed them to come good with time which he said will make Bangladesh a ‘stronger’ team.

"Criticising them is easy, but I don't like to criticise my players. I know how hard they are working. They haven't performed up to their expectations. I am sure they will put up a good performance soon. When they will perform, we become a stronger team,” Tamim backed his players.

Tamim himself had a disappointing end of the series with both the on-field umpire and the third umpire adjudging him out caught behind when he was ‘100 per cent sure’ of not edging the ball.

"It was very disappointing. I was 100 percent sure that I never nicked it. It was very unfortunate that when it went to review, it was almost impossible for the umpire to overturn the decision. If the on-field umpire didn't give that out, it would have been a different thing,” Tamim asserted.

 There was a lot riding on Tamim’s shoulder after the fall of quick wickets at the top of the order and when he was sent back to the pavilion, there was no short of emotions and disagreements from his side to the umpires.