The rivalry between India and Bangladesh has its own status by now. In the last decade and a half, with the ever-growing stature of Bangladesh cricket, the duels between the two nations have been intriguing and riveting, with several nail-biting close finishes.
Bangladesh, on the back of their talisman, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib al Hasan and Mahmudullah, have competed brilliantly against the star-studded Indian lineup of-late.
The stars from both sides of the border have shared the field on multiple occasions during bilateral ties as well as multilateral tournaments such as Asia Cup, Champions Trophy and World Cup.
During a recent interaction, Bangladesh opener Iqbal opened up on drawing inspiration from Indian skipper Virat Kohli, so much so that he was ashamed of himself. Captain Kohli is responsible for introducing a brand new regime in Indian cricket, concentrating on fitness.
The Delhi superstar underwent an inspirational transition in 2013, where he had to look after his diet, and train like a beast in the gym, in order to shed off the extra kilos.
“I must say this, it is not because I am talking to an Indian commentator, India is our neighbour so whatever things they do, it affects Bangladesh as well. We follow what is happening in India, when India changed its approach towards fitness, it impacted Bangladesh the most,” Iqbal told Sanjay Manjerakar during a chat on Espncricinfo.
Then, Iqbal suggested that he had no shame in conceding that watching Kohli run made him feel ashamed of himself.
“I have no shame in admitting this, when I saw Virat Kohli running around two-three years ago, I was ashamed of myself, I thought this is a guy who is probably my age, but he is training so much and I have not done even half of it,” added the southpaw.
However, Iqbal cited the example of Mushfiqur, who is a great role model in the Bangladesh team, as far as fitness is concerned.
“We have a great example in our team as well, Mushfiqur Rahim manages himself well in this regard,” concluded Tamim.
