Dhaka [Bangladesh], Mar 27 : As the whole world has been sent into a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh's newly-appointed ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal said that he is lucky to have a treadmill at his place and as a result, he can look after his fitness during these difficult times.
"I am completely locked down. I am not seeing anyone. It is still early stages. Luckily I have a treadmill at my place. I run in the morning, and the rest of the day I spend time with my kids. The whole world is suffering, but if we fight as a nation, I am sure we can come out of this soon," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Tamim as saying.
All cricket action has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic and more than half a million people worldwide have now been diagnosed with the disease.
The World Health Orgsation (WHO) had termed COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11.
Tamim was recently appointed as the ODI skipper of Bangladesh as Mashrafe Mortaza gave up the mantle.
When asked as to what will be his plans for the side, Iqbal replied: "Most of my initial plans are for off the field. You cannot control everything on the field, but if you can tick some boxes off the field, it reflects on your on-field performance. I will take small steps, and I am not the sort of person to dwell on my plans. Everyone's patience is going to be vital as overnight success can't be expected".
"Look, we have two types of young players in the side: the ones who are quite new and some, like Liton Das, who have been around for four or five years and are just starting to perform. The new captain will also be taking over from someone who had done very well, so I felt that any of the senior players being asked to take the captaincy had to accept the job with the team in mind," Iqbal said.
In his last ODI series against Zimbabwe, Iqbal was in good form as he went on to register scores of 158 and 128 in the second and third ODI.
This performances helped Bangladesh clean sweep the ODI series against Zimbabwe.
( With inputs from ANI )
