Nagraj Gollapudi and Mohammad Isam
March 29, 2012
Pune Warriors have signed up Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal, filling all their overseas slots for the coming season. Tamim, whose signing was formalised on Wednesday, became the eleventh overseas player for the Warriors and their second signing this week after Australian captain Michael Clarke.
Tamim and the franchise management, led by their captain Sourav Ganguly, had been involved in talks for the past week. He joins Shakib Al Hasan as the second Bangladesh player in this year's IPL, and the fifth from that country in the tournament overall.
"I can gain a lot of experience by playing with greats like Sourav Ganguly and Michael Clarke. I like to talk a lot about cricket so I think I am lucky to be playing with them and look forward to learn new things," Tamim told ESPNCricinfo.
"It'll be an extra boost, so it is very important that I do well. More importantly, just like Shakib opened the door for me, I would want that with my inclusion in the IPL, it will let other players from my country to play in this competition.
"With the T20 World Cup coming up this year, it will be a big opportunity for me to perform in the format," Tamim said.
Tamim would look to carry his form into the IPL - he hit four half-centuries in the recent Asia Cup - given his failure during the Bangladesh Premier League last month where he only played two matches for the Chittagong Kings and scored only eight runs.
