Tamim Iqbal dropped from Bangladesh's World Cup 2023 squad
Veteran opener Tamim Iqbal will not be featuring for Bangladesh in the World Cup 2023 to be played in India as he has been left out of the finalized squad on Tuesday, September 26.
Tamim is reportedly said to be 'partially fit' as he hasn't yet fully recovered from a back injury that ruled him out of the Asia Cup. He did play against New Zealand, but according to reports from Somoy TV, the veteran opener told the team management that he would not be able to play more than five games in the World Cup.
Captain Shakib Al Hasan seemed pretty unhappy with the news and claimed that he would not travel to the World Cup if Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) listened to Tamim and played him despite being partially fit. After a lot of deliberation, Tamim Iqbal has been left out of the squad as the captain wanted someone who was fully fit as a replacement.
Bangladesh's World Cup 2023 squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mehidy Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Sakib, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
Tamim Iqbal has been at the centre of a number of controversies
The back injury of Tamim Iqbal takes us back to the series against Afghanistan where he had opened up about wanting to test himself on the field. This didn't go down well with the BCB President Nazmul Hassan as he criticized the then Bangladesh ODI captain for taking fitness lightly.
On July 6, Tamim shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from international cricket. It required interruption from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make the opener reverse his decision. However, he still stepped down from the ODI captaincy with Shakib leading the side in the Asia Cup.
While Tamim's controversial retirement u-turn will continue to remain a topic of debate, Bangladesh will hope that they produce some impressive performances in the World Cup in India.