Tamim Iqbal Talks About England's Tour of Bangladesh 7 Years After the 2016 Terror Attack
England Captain Jos Butler (AP News)
England was recently crushed by Bangladesh after losing their third consecutive match in the T20I series in Dhaka. Even though, Jos Buttler-led Team England, lost the entire series but without a point he went on to defend his mates and the team's experimental selection.
While, it was a different case for the world champions, Bangladesh's ODI Captain Tamim Iqbal was absolutely delighted to welcome England after seven complete years.
England last visited Bangladesh in 2016; three months after the most gruesome terror attack in the nation's history, in which a group of five gunmen attacked a cafe in the capital city of Dhaka. They attacked the cafe while holding patrons hostage, and caused the death of 22 people and two police officers.
Amid the concerns whether England would still continue its tour of Bangladesh, given the circumstances, a number of players expressed their discontentment with the England Cricket Board citing that it was unsafe. However, the tour went on to take place without any hindrances.
Remembering the old days, Tamim Iqbal in an exclusive interview with Mirror Sports said how England would always have a special place in their hearts and how despite the safety concerns they decided to continue the tour.
"I thought the courage that England showed was amazing and every Bangladeshi has special memories of that because it would have been very easy for them to say no.We needed that at that time. I still remember all the citizens of Bangladesh wanted them to come, wanted the series to go ahead."
Seven years after the 2016 tour, England finally made their eagerly anticipated trip back to Bangladesh with no players withdrawing owing to security concerns.
"I'm not saying this just because I'm a Bangladeshi or because I'm the captain, but I think Bangladesh is an extremely safe country and the people are so so so passionate about cricket. Not only for us, but whenever a touring team comes to Bangladesh they have been treated equally. I think they get all the respect when they are in Bangladesh, not only when they are playing, but if they decide to go to a restaurant or go for a walk in the street all the people have been very respectful," added Iqbal while expressing his happiness about England's return.
 "Muskaan")
