Tamim Iqbal announces retirement from international cricket

Posted by Admin January 10, 2025 Cricket

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Tamim Iqbal has announced his retirement from international cricket. This is the second time he has called time on his career, having previously retired in July 2023 in an emotionally charged press conference, only to reverse the decision within 24 hours after intervention from Bangladesh’s then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Tamim informed the Bangladesh selectors of his decision in Sylhet on Wednesday. The Gazi Ashraf Hossain-led selection panel asked him to return to the Bangladesh team for the Champions Trophy. Tamim had reportedly told them then that he would stick to his decision to retire, but after a few Bangladesh players, including captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, had requested him to reconsider, he took a day longer.

“I have been away from international cricket for a long time,” he wrote on Facebook. “That distance will remain. My chapter in international cricket is over. I have been thinking about this for a long time. Now that a big event like the Champions Trophy is coming up, I do not want to be the focus of anyone’s attention, which could lead to the team losing their focus. Of course, I did not want this to happen before, too.

“Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto sincerely asked me to return to the team. There were discussions with the selection committee too. I am grateful to them for still considering me in the team. However, I have listened to my own heart.”

The deadline for announcing the Champions Trophy squads is January 12, and the BCB was willing to wait till the last minute to see if Tamim wants to play. Tamim remained in contention for his domestic form and fitness. He has not played an international game since then but continued to play domestic cricket, including winning the 2024 BPL with the Barishal franchise and finishing as the Player of the Tournament. He did well in the Dhaka Premier League, and then followed it up with more runs in the domestic NCL T20s and this BPL season too, he has been among the runs.

Tamim said BCB waiting for his reply was “unnecessary” considering he opted out of central contracts for 2024 to keep himself out of Bangladesh reckoning.

“I removed myself from the BCB central contract a long time ago because I did not want to return to international cricket,” he wrote. “Many have said that I have left the matter hanging. Why would anyone discuss a cricketer who is no longer in BCB’s contracted list? I voluntarily stepped down more than a year ago.

“Even after that, there has been unnecessary discussion. The decision to retire or continue playing is the right of a cricketer or any professional sportsman. I have given myself time. Now I feel that the time has come.”

Almost 18 months ago, Tamim announced his retirement at a press conference, breaking down a few times. After Tamim made the announcement, Hasina tracked him down, and requested him to come out of retirement the next day. Tamim obliged but then stepped down from ODI captaincy shortly afterwards. Tamim played two ODIs in September 2023 as the Minhajul Abedin-led national selectors were preparing him for the ODI World Cup.

The selectors however didn’t pick him in the 15-man squad. Tamim then hit out at the BCB, claiming they created roadblocks for him in the lead-up to the squad announcement. Shakib Al Hasan, the captain at the time, even launched a scathing attack on Tamim following the incident, calling him “childish”.

“What happened before the 2023 World Cup was a big shock for me, as I did not leave the team due to cricketing reasons,” Tamim said further in his post. “Even after that, many cricket fans told me that they want to see me back in the national team. I thought about their love.

“I also have a fan at home. My son has never told me this directly but he has repeatedly told his mother that he wants to see his father play in the national jersey again. I am sorry for disappointing the fans. I have told my son, ‘The day you grow up, you will understand your father’.”