Tamim: Bangladesh 'should tour Australia and England more often'
Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh's ODI captain, has expressed his frustration that his side are not given the opportunity to tour England and Australia more often.
Bangladesh have not toured England for a bilateral series since 2010, when they played two Tests and three ODIs. Tamim, then aged 21, hit hundreds at Lord's and Old Trafford, and while Bangladesh were heavily beaten in both Tests, they took the ODI series to a decider thanks to a memorable win in Bristol.
Their most recent bilateral tour to Australia was even longer ago, a three-match ODI series back in 2008. They are due to travel there for two Tests in March 2027, according to the ICC's Future Tours Programme, but are not due to play an away series against England in this edition of the FTP.
"That's a long way away now, 2010," Tamim told the UK's Daily Mirror. "But those innings I will always remember. Scoring a hundred in England is not easy, especially for a team like us. The memories are something that, when I've finished cricket, I will take forever in my heart.
"Those two are really close to my heart, but the most important thing is you guys need to invite us more often. That was the last time we played there, which is unfortunate. Bangladesh is in a situation now where we should tour Australia and England more often and I don't know why that doesn't happen.
"It's been 13 years now and we haven't been back to England. It's sad actually that we haven't toured again after doing so well, especially in white-ball cricket."
There are more than 600,000 people in England and Wales who registered as Bangladeshi in the 2021 census, and Bangladesh's fixtures at the 2017 Champions Trophy and 2019 World Cup attracted substantial crowds.
And Tamim believes that would be repeated if Bangladesh were invited for a bilateral tour. "I can guarantee you, it will be less England fans and more Bangladeshi fans, for sure," he said.
"If you remember the 2017 Champions Trophy, we actually outnumbered the English fans… whatever format we play, if we get invited to play in England, it will be a full house."
Bangladesh are due to tour England later this year, but their opponents will be Ireland. The teams are due to play three ODIs in the final fixtures of the ICC's Super League, which are expected to be staged at Chelmsford in the second week of May. The fixtures have not yet been confirmed.