Some untimely injuries have forced Bangladesh to take some unforeseen call for Sri Lanka tour, stand-in skipper Tamim Iqbal urged his team to grab the opportunity with both hands to offer a better challenge to very strong hosts in the upcoming three-match One Day International series.

The Tigers will take on the Islanders without the services of Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Kumar Das – who have been granted leave by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for personal reasons, and were later replaced by Taijul Islam and Anamul Haque respectively in the squad.

But the latest injury to Mashrafe Mortaza and pace-bowling all-rounder Saifuddin further weakened the strength of the tourists against Sri Lanka and forced BCB to opt for Taskin Ahmed and Farhad Reza as their replacement despite all four not in radar for the One Dayers.

Tamim told media, “I think the series is very important and who are traveling with the team have a lot to prove because a lot of experienced cricketers are not going due to injury and other personal reasons.”

He added, “This series will be challenging. Sri Lanka is a very strong team at home but we have done well in the past so there is no reason why we can't do it this time. Those who are in the squad... if they grab this opportunity with both hands then it will be better for the team as well as for them too.”

Meanwhile, Tamim is hoping to make a comeback in the coming Sri Lanka ODI series after his poor outing in the World Cup 2019 where he managed just 235 runs in eight innings an average of 29.37.

He added, “I did not think that way [that leading the side will be an added pressure as I did not score runs in the World Cup and now it will be difficult to lead the side]. I could not play to my expectation [in World Cup] but there is a new challenge ahead and I am hoping something good will happen, let's see.”

Tamim signed off by saying, “If you think about your failure all the time then you are likely to fail again, so I am thinking what is ahead instead of what had passed away. I am trying to figure out the positives now and what I am saying is that this series is very important and we are hoping to do well as a team.”

(With Cricbuzz Inputs)