With only a few days left for World Cup 2023, Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal retires from International cricket.
Bangladesh Captain Tamim Iqbal retires from international cricket
Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal announces retirement from international cricket with less than three months for the World Cup 2023 which is scheduled to play in India.
His 16 years of international career come to an end at an unexpected time. Tamim was emotional and in tears, as he made the announcement at the Press Conference which he arranged at Chattogram, on Thursday.
Bangladesh Cricket team currently hosts Afghanistan to play only Test, 3 ODIs and 2 T20I games between June 14 to July 16. Bangladesh won the only test by 546 runs while the visitors won the first ODI played on July 5.
He made the announcement following Bangladesh’s defeat against Afghanistan in the first match of the 3-match ODI series. In his last ODI outing, Tamim Iqbal scored 13 runs from 21 deliveries where the visitors won the game by 17 runs(DLS method)
He retired from the T20I format last year. He played his last Test match against Ireland in April.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board had not named the new captain nor reacted to Tamim’s announcement in any manner. Litton Das led the Bangladesh team in an ODI match against India in December when Tamim was injured.
Shakib Al Hasan the regular Test and T20I captain, will be the favorite choice to take over in ODIs.
CHECK: BAN vs AFG 2023 Live Streaming Details For All Location
Tamim Retirement announcement
Tamim Iqbal arranged a press conference at Chattogram. He said, “This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket from this moment,” Tamim said. “Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game.
It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about the different reasons. I don’t want to mention here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this is the right time for me to retire from international cricket.
“I need to thank a few people, which they deserve. (Pauses, and takes a deep breath). I have always said that I played cricket (long pause, deep breath) to fulfill my father’s dream. So I am not sure how much I have made him proud throughout these 16 years of my international career.
“There are a lot of other people that I need to thank. My youngest chacha (uncle), his name is Akbar Khan. I held his hands to go to my first cricket tournament. I thank him and his family. I thank Tapan da, a coach in MA Aziz Stadium, (long pause, sobbing), who was my coach in my childhood.
I thank all the players I played with from the U-13, U-15, U-17, U-19s, A team, Premier League, NCL and national team. Especially my national-team colleagues. The cricket board gave me the opportunity to represent the country for so long. I have captained Bangladesh too. I thank them as well.
“I don’t have much to say. One thing I will definitely say is, I tried my best (sobbing). I did try my best. Maybe I was not good enough or good enough. I don’t know. But I tried my 100% whenever I was in the field.
“There are a lot of other things I want to say, but as you can see I am almost unable to speak. But I hope you respect the situation. It is not an easy situation to speak. Quitting international cricket is not easy. I hope you understand. I am sorry to call you on such a short notice. I thank you all in the media.
“I also want to thank the fans. Your love and faith in me inspired me to give my very best for Bangladesh. I want to ask for your prayers for the next chapter of my life. Please keep me in your prayers.
“I am sorry if I missed anyone to thank. But whoever has helped me to grow as a cricketer and human being, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. My mother, my brother, my wife and two children. They suffered a lot in my journey. They also had much to cherish. I thank them as well. I have nothing more to say.
“Please end my topic here. It is the end. At least for international cricket. Let’s not poke too much about it.
‘Why, why, what is it, what else could have happened.’ Let’s put an end to this. I have always said that the team is bigger than any individual. Let’s focus on the team. Two more games to go in the series. I think we should win. There are two major trophies.”
As per Bangladesh World Cup 2023 schedule, Bangladesh will play their first match of the World Cup 2023 against Afghanistan on October 7 in Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.
The 2nd ODI of the series will be played on July 8 in Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram.
