Tanzid Hasan’s press conference had just ended at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday. The reporters were sharing thoughts of the 22-year-old’s first press conference as a member of the national team. “He spoke pretty well, didn’t he?” one of them quipped.
In the 10-minute-long press conference, Tanzid expressed how he is feeling after earning his maiden call-up to the national team. He spoke about his natural attacking batting style. As his nickname is ‘Tamim’, he also had to field questions about Tamim Iqbal. Tanzid answered all of those questions with a lot of maturity.
However, his comfort in front of the media wasn’t that surprising. Tanzid was a member of the World Cup winning Bangladesh Under-19 team. He has been handling the media since his days in age-level cricket. Other members of that team are similarly adept at communication with the media.
Tanzid described what it felt like after receiving his maiden call-up to the national team, “Alhamdulillah, I’ve received a call up to the national team, have gotten an opportunity at a grand stage like the Asia Cup. I’ve played with the seniors in domestic tournaments. I’ve played with them in the President’s Cup and other tournaments as well. I enjoyed those experiences a lot. I’m enjoying it right now as well.”
Other than sharing the same name, there is another reason why Tamim is getting mentioned alongside Tanzid. It was Tamim’s injury that opened up the space for Tanzid’s entry into the Asia Cup squad. For over 16 years, Tamim has been an irreplaceable member of the Bangladesh team. Whenever there is any talk about openers in Bangladesh, Tamim is the first name that comes up.
The pressure is right now on Tanzid as he has big shoes to fill in the Asia Cup. However, the pressure was not perceptible at all from Tanzid’s words, “I feel that Tamim bhai is an idol for everyone. I’ve grown up watching him play. I will try to give my best, hold onto my spot.”
Tamim also sidestepped the fact that they are each other’s namesakes, “See, I’ve been hearing this for a long time. Truth be told, I’ve grown up watching him play. I was inspired to take up cricket because I had the same name. That’s why I’ve watched him play the most. He is an idol for all of us. I’ve tried to learn from his batting.”
Tanzid is known for his attacking batting. He has given proof of his attacking batting prowess in the latest edition of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) as well. For Brother’s Union, he made 474 runs in 11 matches with two centuries, one half-century at a strike rate of 93.30.
He was also a part of the Bangladesh A team which took part in last month’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. In that tournament, Tanzid scored 179 runs in four matches with three half-centuries and at a strike rate of 116.99. It remains to be seen whether Tanzid can replicate the same aggressive style in international cricket.
Tanzid’s answer reflected his positive mindset, “I’m not thinking about that. I don’t think about the name of the bowler. I just try to focus on the delivery.”
He also spoke about his batting style, “See, I don’t think about all these things when I go out to bat. My only thought is to play positive cricket. Many say that I play attacking cricket. That’s not exactly true. I try to play my natural game. I try to have faith in my strong points. I believe in my strengths and in playing positive cricket.”
