Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal expects to play against England in the first Test at Lord’s starting here on Thursday despite struggling with a wrist injury that could yet require surgery.
Tamim first suffered the problem with his left wrist while fielding during Bangladesh’s domestic Twenty20 event in 2009.
And it proved an issue in the recent World Twenty20 in the Caribbean where he sat out the second of Bangl-adesh’s two losing matches, against Australia in Barbados, as a result of the injury.
During last week nine-wicket loss to the England Lions, Tamim made scores of 36 and 19 and those inni-ngs, added to the pull of pl-aying a Test at Lord’s, are set to see him in action this week at the ‘home of cricket’.
“I’ve pushed myself five per cent more than maybe I would have done on other grounds. I’m really excited to play at Lord’s in a Test match. It will be a dream come true and I really want to play, because I don’t know when I’ll get another chance,” Tamim told reporters on Tuesday.
He added: “A specialist said ‘you’ve got two choices. Either you play with taping and hope there won’t be any harm, or you can have surgery that will take three months.’”
Bangladesh have won just three out of their 66 Tests and have never beaten England in a five-day game.
— AFP