Bangladesh’s one-day international captain Tamim Iqbal on Thursday announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect. A day later, Iqbal reversed his decision*.
“Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game, I am retiring from international cricket effective right now,” Tamim told reporters.
He broke into tears as he made the announcement, with the press conference broadcast live on national television.
“There was no sudden reason behind this, I was thinking about it for quite some time,” he added. “I was talking about it with my family members for few days. I thought this was right time for me to decide.”
Tamim’s decision came just two days after he came under heavy criticism for deciding to play against Afghanistan in the first ODI of a three-match series, despite admitting to not being 100 percent fit.
Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan led the criticism, calling the player’s professionalism into question.
Tamim scored 13 off 21 balls in a 17-run defeat to a side Bangladesh would be expected to beat.
The 34-year-old batter scored 8,313 runs in the 241 ODIs he played for Bangladesh, hitting 14 centuries – both run-scoring stats being the highest by any Bangladeshi batter.
The veteran scored 5,134 runs from the 134 innings he played in 70 Tests, scoring 10 hundreds.
He retired from Twenty20 internationals in 2022.
Update: Iqbal withdrew his retirement from international cricket on Friday – a day after shocking teammates with his sudden resignation – following a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the country’s cricket board said.
Bangladesh Cricket Board director Jalal Yunus told AFP that Tamim had a change of heart after meeting with Hasina at her Dhaka residence.
“Tamim Iqbal has withdrawn his retirement decision,” Yunus said.
“However he will take a six-week rest to regain fitness. He has been under physical and mental pressure in the past six months, which affected his performance.”
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