"Have often heard in the dressing room that he is leaving the captaincy" - Shakib al Hasan offers grim view of Tamim Iqbal's leadership tenure
Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan shared his view on Tamim Iqbal's captaincy tenure, revealing that rumors often circulated about the latter stepping down from the role. The veteran all-rounder believes that Tamim could have stepped down from the role a little earlier to give his successor some time to settle down.
The left-handed opening batter shockingly quit international cricket in the first week of July, but reversed his retirement after meeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, he relinquished his captaincy duties before returning for the ODI series against New Zealand.
Speaking to T-Sports channel, Shakib revealed that one of the players had advised Tamim to quit captaincy and allow his successor to settle into the role.
"I have often heard in the dressing room that he is leaving the captaincy. Even a player once told him that 'bhai, leave it early so that the new captain gets a bit of time'. Exactly that's what happened. The one who came in, didn't get the time. Each and everyone knew including the selectors and board officials. I don't know why he didn't leave it (earlier). He can tell you."
After Tamim failed to make the cut for the 2023 World Cup squad, the 34-year-old lashed out at the BCB for their 'dirty game' via a message on Facebook. The southpaw said he was confident of regaining fitness in time for the World Cup and didn't want to bat down the order, as suggested.
"A player should bat at any position for the team" - Shakib al Hasan
Shakib cited Rohit Sharma's example of batting down the order in his early days before becoming an opener, suggesting that a player should be ready to play at any spot. He added:
"Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener, scored 10,000-plus runs. If he sometimes bats at No 3 or 4, would it be a big problem? It is totally childish. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first. You are not thinking about the team at all."
Bangladesh recently hosted New Zealand for a three-match ODI series that the visitors clinched 2-0. The Bangla Tigers will kick off their World Cup campaign on October 7, 2023, against Afghanistan at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.