"More than one person was involved and they all played their roles very cleverly" - Tamim Iqbal on his fallout with Bangladesh cricket
Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal said several people were involved in his exclusion from the 2023 ODI World Cup squad. The veteran batter had announced his retirement from international cricket in July last year, only to reverse his decision a day later.
Tamim then played the New Zealand ODIs at home and was named in the World Cup squad. However, he was excluded from the mega event after a fallout with the board and then-skipper Shakib Al Hasan.
The 35-year-old opted out of Bangladesh's central contract list earlier this year, signaling the end of his international career.
Tamim Iqbal, who has since turned into a commentator, recently opened up on his torrid last year during an interview with Sportstar. He said:
"More than one person was involved, and they all played their roles very cleverly. However, I can’t name them for obvious reasons. To this day, I haven’t blamed anyone, and I never will. They know what they did to me, and I know what they did, so let’s leave it at that. I believe in karma and don’t wish ill on anyone, because one day, it might come back to haunt me."
Tamim remains Bangladesh's second all-time leading run-scorer with 15,192 runs in 387 matches, including 25 centuries and 94 half-centuries. He is their all-time leading run-scorer in ODIs with 8,357 runs in 243 games.
"Imagine I am the captain of Bangladesh and successful at that" - Tamim Iqbal on his sudden retirement
Tamim Iqbal further justified his remarks on being pushed out of the side due to external factors, pointing to his decent captaincy stint before retiring.
The veteran cricketer was leading Bangladesh in the Afghanistan ODI series when he announced his retirement in July last year.
"Imagine I am the captain of Bangladesh and successful at that. I was performing well with the bat too, so everything seemed to be going my way. Then why did I suddenly retire? What really happened? Was it because I failed in just two or three games? No. Throughout my career, I’ve faced failures many times," Tamim said in the same interview.
He added:
"If my place in the team had been in question, that would have been a different situation, and retirement might have made sense. On the surface, everything appeared smooth, so why did I step away? There must have been something I didn’t enjoy, someone creating a situation that pushed me towards making this decision."
Tamim Iqbal boasts an excellent record as Bangladesh captain across formats, winning 21 and losing 15 out of 38 games.