I'm trying to pass my time with Netflix and Amazon Prime: Tamim
Tamim expressed that after being in his hotel room for the first few days when he finally got to meet some of his teammates, it felt like he was meeting them after years.
Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has opened up on his time in New Zealand so far.
Bangladesh play three ODIs and three T20Is against the Black Caps with the first ODI beginning on March 20 in Dunedin.
Tamim expressed that after being in his hotel room for the first few days when he finally got to meet some of his teammates, it felt like he was meeting them after years.
"It felt weird at first when we went outdoors to catch some fresh air because we were cooped up in our rooms for two-three days. Then suddenly we were allowed to get out and it felt nice seeing the rest of the team. Felt like I was seeing them after many years! But since we have small groups and we can only get out and meet them, there are many teammates that we haven't been able to see face-to-face yet. So it's different and challenging for sure," Tamim told the media via a video message.
Bangladesh have never defeated New Zealand in their home soil and that is something that Tamim and his troops are looking forward to doing.
"This is my first tour as a captain so I'm hopeful. Before we play the first match, we'll be taking part in training sessions so that will help us be ready as a team. The vibe I get from the team and talking with everyone is that they all want to do well. So we're hopeful and as I say, if we can do our job properly and perform well as a unit and to our potential, we can beat any team. That's what I believe and I'm sure that's what the team believes," the left-hander explained.
Tamim and the rest of the Bangladesh team are waiting for their Covid results and only when they are negative can they start gym and practice sessions.
"If our Covid tests come out negative tomorrow (Tuesday) we can start doing gym work from Wednesday. And from the eighth day, we can even start practice sessions in small groups in the field. So that's what I'm looking forward to, to be honest. It feels like it's been many days but once gym and practice start and we can focus fully on cricket, things will be better," the 31-year-old added.
Tamim also detailed how he's spending his time in his hotel room: "We have to stay in our rooms for 23.5 hours out of 24 hours but luckily we have been provided cycles and bands to do some exercise indoor. For me, I'm also passing my time watching Netflix and Amazon Prime and sleeping since we can't meet anyone else or do anything else at the moment."
The southpaw from Chattogram is aware that the lack of proper movement in the last few days will make the first few practice sessions a challenge but he's still looking forward to it.
"The first few practice sessions might be a bit challenging to get up to speed with everything since in the last few days we've hardly had any movement. But if everything is okay then from Wednesday we can even start gym work. Once that starts, everything should be back to normal as far as how we feel with training goes," he said.
Although self-isolation has not been easy for the players, Tamim feels that it hasn't been as difficult as he thought it would have been and believes that the remaining time in self-isolation will pass by smoothly.
"It's something we have to get used to wherever we go now and that's the world we're living in at the moment. Self-isolation is still going on for us and it hasn't been easy, but I thought it was going to be even tougher. Time is passing by somehow and it's been four-five days so our time of self-isolation is almost coming to an end now," he concluded.