Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal is excited to play at Lord’s Cricket Ground, the Home of Cricket, after a long time as he will represent ICC World XI against Windies this month.
The match will be played to raise funds to help hurricane-affected stadiums in the Caribbean caused by Irma and Maria. The initiative was taken by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), International Cricket Council (ICC) and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
The match has been handed T20 International status which will be played on 31st May.
Tamim is the only representative from Bangladesh after Shakib Al Hasan pulled out. The left-handers goal is to play well so that a healthy amount of funds can be raised to help Cricket Windies (CWI).
“I’m not only going to represent. If I play well it will make me feel better. I want to fulfill the reason for which the match is being hosted so that I can collect enough funds from this match,” he said.
In the past, Tamim had a great memory at Lord’s when he hit a century against England to put his name on the honours board, the first Bangladeshi batsman on the list.
“Definitely excited. It’s great to represent in this type of match. I would’ve still felt better even if I did not have any memories because we don’t play much at Lord’s. But I’m really excited to play there after so many days,” he added.
Tamim played three T20Is for World XI when the team toured Pakistan last year.
ICC World XI squad: Eoin Morgan (captain) (England), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (both India), Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi (both Pakistan), Luke Ronchi, Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand)