‘I don’t want to confine myself to one format’

Tanzid Hasan Tamim has hit his stride in the final stretch of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), hitting his maiden Twenty20 hundred to help his side Chattogram Challengers qualify for the playoffs. The 23-year-old has been considered a huge prospect for Bangladesh cricket since his Under-19 days but inconsistency and failure to covert promising starts have remained his biggest obstacles. Recently, Tanzid spoke with The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin about how he approaches the game, who he consults about his batting and much more. The excerpts of the interview are given below:

The Daily Star (DS): You have looked in great touch in the last few games and have even scored your maiden T20 hundred. You must be delighted.

Tanzid Hasan Tamim (THT): Definitely, it feels good, to be honest. Scoring my maiden T20 hundred is something I will cherish for a long time and it feels great. As a team, we are in an excellent flow. However, I don't want to think too much about my personal achievements, I prefer to focus on how to win matches for my team. I will continue to do so in the coming days as well.

DS: Since you are an aggressive batter by nature, how do you approach your innings in the white ball formats?

THT: I always try to bat with a positive frame of mind and try to bank on my strength. If I get the ball in my zone, I try to look for boundaries and play according to the merit of the delivery.

DS: Despite getting a few starts in last year's ODI World Cup, you were unable to convert them into big knocks. Have you been working on that aspect of your game?

THT: I always knew that there was no issue with my skills. It was mainly a mental issue, my decision making was not up to the mark. I have been trying to focus on converting good starts into big scores.

DS: Since you are a stroke-maker, how do you adapt to different surfaces, especially in wickets like Mirpur where the ball usually doesn't come onto the bat?

THT: As a top-order batter, I need to be able to play in all sorts of pitches. It's pretty obvious that we won't get similar wickets everywhere. So, it is important to understand how the wicket is behaving and to keep that in mind while deciding how I should approach the innings.

DS: Who do you go talk to about your technique and batting in general?

THT: I am in constant touch with Sujon sir [Khaled Mahmud Sujon] and I also work with Sohel Islam sir. Whenever I go to Mirpur, he helps me. When I was in the national team, our head coach Chandika Hathurusingha helped me with my batting along alongside our batting coach Nic Pothas.

DS: Do you think the experience of playing at the ODI World Cup helped you to know more about your game?

THT: Absolutely, I have learned a lot from the World Cup. It was the biggest stage where I faced all the quality bowlers from different teams. I think it's a learning curve for me and the more I play, the better I will understand the standard required at the international level.

DS: You were named in the Tigers ODI squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka series but left out of the T20 side. How did that make you feel?

THT: To be honest, I didn't feel bad for not being able to make it to the T20 side as I always keep my faith in the almighty. Maybe something better is waiting for me in the near future. I have the desire to represent Bangladesh across all three formats as I don't want to confine myself to a particular format.

DS: We all know you idolise Tamim Iqbal. But outside of Bangladesh, who are the batters you follow?

THT: Since I grew up watching Tamim bhai's batting, obviously he holds a special place for me. To be honest, I love watching all left-handed batters and try to learn something from everyone. I also follow how they bat in different situations. Suppose, how a batter is batting in the first 10 overs and then how he handles things when the situation gets tougher as the innings progresses.