Tamim Iqbal Khan (Bengali: তামিম ইকবাল খান) (born 20 March 1989 in Chittagong is a Bangladeshi cricketer who played in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka. He plays his first-class cricket for Chittagong Division cricket team and has also played for Old DOHS as an opener in the Corporate League. Tamim Iqbal is the brother of Test player Nafees Iqbal and the nephew of Akram Khan, another famous cricketer from Bangladesh.Early career
He was picked for the 2007 World Cup and played against India in the group stage of the competition, scoring 51 runs from 53 deliveries, helping his team win the match.
Although he was part of the player auction held in February for the 2009 Indian Premier League, Tamim was not bought by any team.
On Bangladesh's tour of the West Indies in July and August 2009, Iqbal scored his maiden Test century. Against a West Indies team weakened by disputes between players and administrators which resulted in seven players making their Test debut in the match, Iqbal's effort with the bat helped Bangladesh to a historic victory – their first against the West Indies in Tests, their first overseas Test victory, and only their second Test win. He ended up with 128, and was named as the Man of the Match for his performance (he also scored 33 in the first innnings). Speaking of his innings, Iqbal said "It was a flat wicket, and if you concentrate hard and look to bat straight, it's a good track to score on. I'm just 20 and have played only 11 Tests, I think there are a lot more [innings like these] to come". Bangladesh went on to win the second Test, and in the process secured their first overseas series win. Iqbal was Bangladesh's leading run-scorer in the series with 197 runs.
Before the Tri-Series in Bangladesh in 2009–10 with Sri Lanka and India, Bangladesh's coach, Jamie Siddons, opined in January 2010 that Iqbal had "the makings of a world-class opener".
Wisden Cricketer of the Year
On 25 January Tamim Iqbal scored 151 in a record partnership with Junaid Siddique against India. On 13 March 2010, in the course of an innings of 86 in his first Test against England, he became the third-youngest player in Test history (behind Sachin Tendulkar and compatriot Mohammad Ashraful) to reach 1,000 Test runs. He would then go on to score two consecutive centuries in the second innings of the first Test and the first innings of the second Test in the two-match series in England scoring 103 and 108 respectively. For his performance during Bangladesh's tour of England in May–July 2010, Tamim was named one of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack's four Cricketers of the Year in 2011.
In October 2010, Tamim Iqbal was named Test player of the year by the Wisden Cricketer Magazine. Tamim beat contenders Graeme Swann and Virender Sehwag, who came second and third respectively.
Bangladesh vice-captain
In December 2010, Tamim Iqbal replaced Mushfiqur Rahim as Bangladesh's vice-captain. In the opening match of the 2011 World Cup he scored 70 against India in a losing cause. In the following match against Ireland he scored 44 off 43 balls, and took a catch. In the next game against the West Indies, Tamim was caught at the slips for 0 (3) as Bangladesh folded for its lowest ODI score, 58 all out. The following game against England he scored a quick fire 38 to get his side off to another good start, Bangladesh eventually winning by 2 wickets.
Tamim became just the second Bangladeshi to play county cricket in England (Shakib Al Hasan was the first) when he signed to play for Nottinghamshire in June 2011. He was recruited as a short-term replacement for Australian batsmen David Hussey who was called up to the national squad. During his stay, Tamim played five matches, scoring 104 runs with a highest score of 47. Tamim, whose batting was described in the Nottingham Post as "solid if unspectacular", remarked of his performance that "It could have been better, but it wasn't too bad". Even though he was playing in a foreign country, there was pressure from the media in Bangladesh for Tamim to perform – especially when Nottinghamshire faced Worcestershire who were fielding Shakib Al Hasan – with his exploits sometimes making the front pages.| Full name | Tamim Iqbal Khan | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 20 March 1989 Chittagong, Bangladesh | |||
| Batting style | Left-handed bat | |||
| Role | Opening batsman and Bangladesh vice-captain | |||
| Relations | Akram Khan (Paternal uncle), Nafees Iqbal (Brother) | |||
| International information | ||||
| National side | Bangladesh | |||
| Test debut (cap 50) | 4 January 2008 v New Zealand | |||
| Last Test | 8 August 2011 v Zimbabwe | |||
| ODI debut (cap 83) | 9 February 2007 v Zimbabwe | |||
| Last ODI | 13 April 2011 v Australia | |||
| Domestic team information | ||||
| Years | Team | |||
| 2004-present | Chittagong Division | |||
| 2011 | Nottinghamshire | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Competition | Test | ODI | FC | LA |
| Matches | 20 | 98 | 41 | 112 |
| Runs scored | 1,503 | 2,896 | 2,986 | 3,289 |
| Batting average | 39.55 | 29.55 | 40.35 | 29.36 |
| 100s/50s | 4/8 | 3/18 | 6/20 | 4/19 |
| Top score | 151 | 154 | 151 | 154 |
| Balls bowled | 24 | 6 | 132 | 6 |
| Wickets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bowling average | – | – | – | – |
| 5 wickets in innings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | – | 0 | – |
| Best bowling | – | – | – | 0/6 |
| Catches/stumpings | 8/– | 27/– | 20/– | 34/– |
