Tamim Iqbal: For me to come back, a lot of things have to be right; otherwise, there's no point
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal has said that a lot of things need to be in order for him to make a comeback to the national side. He added that he hasn’t spoken with the new selector, but asserted that he is keen to do so soon.
Tamim was named Player of the Tournament as Fortune Barishal beat Comilla Victorians by six wickets in the Bangladesh Premier League 2024 final at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Friday, March 1, to win their maiden title. He was the leading run-getter in the tournament, smashing 492 runs in 15 innings at an average of 35.14 and a strike rate of 127.13.
The 34-year-old Tamim was in the limelight for multiple reasons last year. First, he announced a shock retirement, only to take it back later. He then made himself unavailable for the 2023 ODI World Cup amid an open war of words with captain Shakib-Al-Hasan.
"I would like to say one thing clearly. For me to come back, a lot of things have to be right otherwise there's no point for me to just come back and play.
"I am at a stage of my career where I would probably play for another two years. So I need to tell them such things. and since I did not have a final talk with them, it won't be appropriate for me to comment here," Tamim was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
The veteran cricketer was expected to have a chat with Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan and the chief selector about his international future, but that's yet to happen.
"I haven't spoken with him (new chief selector) yet. I was in communication with Jalal bhai (Jalal Yunus). I was available for a talk, but, unfortunately, we didn't get the opportunity.
"I will be travelling abroad tomorrow morning, and, hopefully, after I return, we will sit," the seasoned opener explained.
Leading Fortune Barishal, Tamim contributed 39 off 26, hitting three fours and as many sixes, as his side chased down a target of 155 in 19 overs to beat Comilla Victorians in the BPL 2024 final.
“Whatever I have done is there for everyone to see” - Tamim Iqbal
While some experts might reckon that with his performance in BPL 2024, Tamim has proved his critics wrong, the Bangladesh batter doesn’t look at things that way.
He explained that by trying to prove people wrong in the past, he had only put pressure on himself.
"During my international career I have gone through lots of ups and downs and there were times when there was lot of talks like whether I will be in the team or not, and I wanted to prove people wrong, and actually by trying to do that, I learnt that I was building pressure on myself,” Tamim said.
"From cricket the most important thing that I learnt is that whenever I tried to do that (prove a point), I put pressure on myself and I didn't understand it. This is the learning from 17 years of my career and I just tried to do it this time. … Look if I was thinking that I need to give an answer in that case I might not have done it (becoming the leading run-getter in BPL 2024). Whatever I have done is there for everyone to see," he concluded.
One of the biggest names in Bangladesh cricket, Tamim has played 70 Tests, 243 ODIs and 78 T20Is, scoring 15,249 runs across all three formats.