Healthy competition urges Tamim, Shakib to do better

Bangladesh' star batsman opener Tamim Iqbal suggested that healthy competition between him and Shakib Al Hasan will be good for the team and said that he would have to keep performing well to compete well.

"It will be good if the competition heats up," Tamim said after he was asked on the subject.

Despite scoring two consecutive 84-run knocks against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, Tamim was not awarded the player of the match award as Shakib grabbed the award in both of Tigers' matches they have played in the tri-nation series so far. There have been many occasions where Shakib has sneaked in a performance with the ball and contributed with the bat which gave him the player of the match award even as Tamim did well with bat. Tamim however feels that healthy competition urges everyone in the team to get better.

Asked whether Shakib's promotion up the batting order will give more urgency for the duo to compete, Tamim said:

"Healthy competition is good for the team. If I want to do better than someone, in fact if he [Shakib] wants to defeat me. This is always good."

The opener said that Shakib will get to bat more overs after taking up the number three position and reiterated that he too will have to rise up to the challenge.

He talked about Shakib's approach at number three and said: "Before, Shakib used to come down at number four or five and there were times where Bangladesh were already three wickets down for 40 runs. Or it could be three for 200. When he comes at number three, it will be significantly important since you may have to bat from the second delivery of the innings or from the 25th over. Shakib, being a very smart cricketer, knows what to do.

"While it is too early to say if he is perfect for the position or not, he has the capability of batting at three."