Tamim Iqbal hopeful of comeback

Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opener, has said he is confident of a comeback once he recovers fully from his wrist injury, though he accepts he might miss the home series against New Zealand early next month.

"I feel good now, I'm improving day by day," he told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Monday, two weeks after being operated on for the injury. "I am confident of returning within two months. I can start batting with the soft ball after another two weeks."

Tamim, who averages 40.13 in Tests with four centuries, consulted specialists in Australia at the beginning of the month after he experiencing lingering pain on the injury, sustained earlier this year while playing against India.

He said he felt the mental pressure of the operation had passed and was now confident of a strong return to competitive cricket. "I had discomfort with the injury because there was lingering pain. It's like a pebble inside your shoe. But I am now tension-free and looking forward to a full recovery as early as possible."

The BCB's sports physician Debashish Chowdhury, working with Australian physicians and monitoring Tamim's rehabilitation, was satisfied with the batsman's progress. "We are hopeful about his return to cricket within two months. Everything, however, will depend on the rehabilitation programme."

The operation, Chowdhury said, would eliminate the risk of complications or of the injury recurring. "The main focus of the operation was to ensure a complication-free wrist, that's why the bone fragments were removed. There might be some residual pain but the chances of that are very slim. It might happen that he continues his career with a minor level of pain.

"We didn't have any precedent for this kind of operation in our country and that's why it's better for a key player like Tamim to perform the operation in the best possible place. We got a guideline from the Australian physician about the rehabilitation programme, which will definitely help us."