Tamim Meek-bal Khan

[Yankees]

tl;dr this guy sucks

4 years ago, after the 2015 WC, I opened a thread (it was prob my first thread) saying Tamim should be dropped and we should look to the future. Unfortunately, that thread got deleted after the massive data erase following the site crashed. I wish it was still up, because then I could just bump it. Because 4 years later, absolutely nothing has changed.

So I will just rehash was I wrote then. Bangladesh needs to make a tough decision here. Drop Tamim for good and look to the future. Why? Because you cannot win a world cup with Tamim as your leader. You cannot reach semis with Tamim as your “core.” Heck, you cannot win an Asia cup with Slowmim Dotball (cr to Roey) as your opener.

This is the best you can expect from him. This world cup is not an outlier. This is exactly what we saw 4 years ago (down to the dropped catch against England), it’s what we saw 8 years ago, and it’s what we will see from him 4 years from now. The decision is simple: drop Tamim and take the next four years to either solidify the Smash Bros – SS and Liton, or find a suitable replacement.

I can hear the rebuttal from a mile away, because it’s the same rebuttal I saw 4 years ago.

“Tamim is the best opener in Bangladesh’s history”


“Who are you going to replace him with?”


The first one always seems like a joke to me. I absolutely agree Tamim is the best opener in Bangladesh’s history, he has all kinds of batting records for Bangladesh. But that’s only because he has been around the longest. BD got full member status in 2000, and Tamim made his debut in 2007. A mere 7 years seperates Tamim’s timeline from BD’s timeline. He has been around for over 75% of the team’s existence as a full member and has played an overwhelming majority of our games. It’s the equivalent of being given full access to a brand new arcade game, where the leaderboard has been wiped clean. Remember those? Anyone who plays the first couple of games gets to put their initials first, second, third, etc. Ofcourse then better gamers come along, and a week later, your initials are nowhere to be found. It’s kind of like that, except worse, because nobody else has been allowed to play the game since – Tamim’s hording the arcade for himself! So naturally it’s easy to point to the leaderboard and say “look I told you Tamim was good” without acknowledging that the other kids haven’t been given any coins to play yet. We couldn’t even dare to try SS-Liton opening in a meaningless tri-series because the notion of dropping Tamim is so unheard of. Well enough's enough, it’s time to let others play the game.

So, on to the rebuttal number two. Who do you replace him with? 4 years ago, I rattled off some names as possible replacements – Anamul (lol), Rony (LOL), Litton (yes), SS (tbd?). 2 out of 4 still viable options now. Yes, SS and Liton has major issues, but at this stage of their career, they are better off than Tamim. More importantly, they are both suited for the modern ODI game. Liton, especially, has shown his mentally tougher – becoming first BD player to score a 100 in a tournament knockoff game, that too in an Asia Cup finals. Tamim, after 12 years, has come nowhere close. Couldn't even do it in a tri-series ice cream cup. Do you feel sick yet?

A new rebuttle since 2015 would be “He has averaged over 50 blah blah blah since 2015.” This is a legitimate point. He has and that’s pretty good. So is WC a slump for him? Hardly. What you see now is the real Tamim. A guy who has always choked in pressure situations. A guy who has never done well in a World Cup or any tournament for that matter. His WC average this year is in line with his wc average the last 3 editions. So that’s what Tamim is, a guy that will win you a few bilateral once in awhile, but will inevitably sh*t himself when there’s actually something to play for. He can’t handle pressure, for he is Tamim Meekbal. So are you happy with just winning a few bilaterals? Or would you rather give yourself the best chance for a trophy? How you honestly answer that question should decide how you feel about Tamim’s continued inclusion in the team.

Do I sound like a hater yet? Perhaps. Yes. Absolutely. I’m a hater. I’m a hater because I was the biggest fan of Tamim way back when. Watched him bat against India in 2007 as a high school kid and was absolutely star struck. But I’ve grown up since then, the game itself has grown up since then. Tamim’s game, however, hasn’t. He is perpetually stuck in 2007. Over a decade and 4 world cups later, absolutely nothing has changed. Can you taste the bile of disgust boiling at the pit of your stomach?

Perhaps worst of all is how overrated he is. And, by relation, how underrated Shakib has been. This very notion that somehow they are on the same level (ooo amader FAV FIVE, baap re baap!!) is a smack in the face to Shakib. So much praising for Tamim, while Shakib always seemed to be clouded in criticism. Like when Shakib showed his balls to the TV camera. How rude! How dare he be upset at a loss? Why can’t he behave more meekly like Tamim Meekbal? Why can’t he be like Tamim, who never shows emotions after a loss, or a missed catch for that matter. Well, Shakib has once again shown his balls to the world. And he has done it on the biggest stage in cricket, while Tamim remains the good meek boy that he is.

I know Tamim isn’t the only problem with the team, but he is a big problem. I can confidently say that this guy – and to an extent the Fav Five – barring Shakib – has taken this team as far as possible. We won't win with this bunch. It will have to be the next batch, and the batch after that who will win you silverware, lead by guys who have the killer instincts. Tamim sadly isn’t that guy.

I know this won’t do anything. Tamim will leave when he wants to leave the team. His uncle and his blind fans will make sure of that. But I for one can’t wait for the day when he does leave – because that day we will be one step closer to becoming a legitimate championship contender.

[Yankees]

yikes -- didnt realize it was this long.

[Shadow]

[CricLoverUK]

Need to take time to read the whole book. Give me some time.

[Max100]

its ok. one series fail doesnt mean he is bad. have patience. he is still best option we have

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by Max100
its ok. one series fail doesnt mean he is bad. have patience. he is still best option we have

This is not just another series. This is the world cup. Another failed world cup for Tamim.

Wait, was that sarcastic.

[Eshen]

He is mentally weak for big tournaments like CT or WC. Still a good option to have for a bilateral series.

[Yankees]

Originally Posted by Eshen
He is mentally weak for big tournaments like CT or WC. Still a good option to have for a bilateral series.

anyone who can't handle big tournaments is never a good option for bilaterals. Defeats the purpose.

[ma_o_mati]

Originally Posted by Yankees
anyone who can't handle big tournaments is never a good option for bilaterals. Defeats the purpose.

Bingo!!

[Miraz]

Originally Posted by Eshen
He is mentally weak for big tournaments like CT or WC. Still a good option to have for a bilateral series.

This sums up Tamim. He always plays poorly in World Cup. He has a poor record compared to his career record.

[Jadukor]

Originally Posted by Eshen
He is mentally weak for big tournaments like CT or WC. Still a good option to have for a bilateral series.

Agreed. Averaged 60 per innings since 2017 till WC. This failure is purely mental. Not sure why he didnt chose to play aggressively when the usual approach wasnt working.

[Night_wolf]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
Agreed. Averaged 60 per innings since 2017 till WC. This failure is purely mental. Not sure why he didnt chose to play aggressively when the usual approach wasnt working.

stuck in the 90s

[Oni_cricket]

Not sure we can get rid of him yet with no better back up

[ma_o_mati]

Originally Posted by Night_wolf
stuck in the 90s

In 90’s, there were jayasurya, kaluvitharana, hayden, gilchrist, saeed anwar, amir sohail etc. he stuck somewhere alright. Dont exactly know where. Tamim should hv been the performer with the bat pretty much along the line of shakib. But he failed match after match.

[Rifat]

Originally Posted by Eshen
He is mentally weak for big tournaments like CT or WC. Still a good option to have for a bilateral series.

He had a hundred against England in the Champions trophy if i am not mistaken. also scored a 95 against Australia same Champions trophy. This world cup he was pretty poor barring that 62 against Australia, even there he ran Soumya out and was slow...

[Eshen]

Originally Posted by Rifat
He had a hundred against England in the Champions trophy if i am not mistaken. also scored a 95 against Australia same Champions trophy. This world cup he was pretty poor barring that 62 against Australia, even there he ran Soumya out and was slow...

Ok, I stand corrected. I guess WC is where he crosses over his limit and breaks apart.

[revolver]

Tamim is worse that javed Omar

[NoName]

Prepare for the backlash lol

[Night_wolf]

Did Zeeshan hack your account?

I told you not to give the password with that tip you gave for fantasy team name

[Yankees]

Originally Posted by Night_wolf
Did Zeeshan hack your account?

I told you not to give the password with that tip you gave for fantasy team name

why would you think that? Do you see the post doing uber* (NOT to be confused with Lyft) psychoanalysis of Tamim?

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by Yankees
why would you think that? Do you see the post doing uber* (NOT to be confused with Lyft) psychoanalysis of Tamim?

Now that's something Zeeshan would say.

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by Night_wolf
Did Zeeshan hack your account?

I told you not to give the password with that tip you gave for fantasy team name

Uncanny resemblance... though... except I got more edited expletives and vitriol.

[SportingBD]

Tamim Iqbal in World Cup:

Matches: 29
Runs: 718
High score: 95
Average: 24.75
Strike rate: 73.11
100: Zero

https://twitter.com/Bangla13c/status...06644708851714

[Yankees]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
Tamim Iqbal in World Cup:

Matches: 29
Runs: 718
High score: 95
Average: 24.75
Strike rate: 73.11
100: Zero

https://twitter.com/Bangla13c/status...06644708851714

stats don't lie. keep in mind, that 95 was against....Scotland.

[Modad]

Originally Posted by SportingBD
Tamim Iqbal in World Cup:

Matches: 29
Runs: 718
High score: 95
Average: 24.75
Strike rate: 73.11
100: Zero

https://twitter.com/Bangla13c/status...06644708851714

Can someone dig the stats for Tamim against big teams (non minnows and associates) In WC. I assume the average will fall down to bellow 20...