C T Online Desk: Bangladesh’s one-day international captain and veteran opener Tamim Iqbal dramatically reversed his course and decided to withdraw his retirement after the prime minister Sheikh Hasina intervened in the matter.
Following a meeting with the PM on Friday, Tamim declared that he would return after a short break and would be available for the forthcoming Asia Cup in September.
After being invited to a meeting, Tamim went to attend the meeting at the PM’s official residence, Ganabhaban, along with his wife, former Bangladesh captain and a ruling party lawmaker Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, and Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan.
‘The honourable prime minister invited me to her residence this afternoon. We had a long discussion. She has instructed me to return to cricket. I am withdrawing my retirement,’ Tamim told reporters in a crowded press conference in front of Ganabhaban following their meeting.
‘I can say no to everyone except the most important person in the country,’ he said.
‘The prime minister has also given me a break of a month and a half. I will complete my treatment and return to playing cricket.’ While talking to the reporters, Tamim was accompanied by Mashrafe and Nazmul.
‘We sat with him through the prime minister, and he just told you that he is withdrawing the retirement letter. He is not retired. He has taken a six-week break during which he will undergo rehab and get ready physically and mentally. He will return to cricket soon,’ Nazmul told reporters.
Tamim announced his retirement at an emotional press conference in Chattogram on Thursday, when he broke into tears.
Earlier, Tamim decided to retire just two days after he faced harsh criticism for playing in the opening ODI of the three-match series against visiting Afghanistan despite acknowledging that he was not totally fit.
Nazmul was also among the critics, as he was the loudest in questioning the 34-year-old’s professionalism.
After playing despite not being fully fit, Tamim managed to score only 13 runs off 21 balls, and the Tigers suffered a 17-run defeat against a team they expected to beat.
‘Having seen his press conference, I knew that he was being emotional about his decision. I knew that if we could sit face-to-face, I could find a solution,’ Nazmul said on Friday.
After Tamim’s unexpected announcement to retire on Thursday, the Bangladesh team management named vice-captain Liton Das the stand-in captain for the rest of the ODI series against Afghanistan on Friday and also recalled batsman Rony Talukdar to the side to play in Tamim’s position.
It was not immediately clear if Tamim would retain his captaincy after returning for the Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
‘When Tamim returns to cricket after a month and a half break, we will definitely want him as the captain. But first, let him return, and then we will sit down and discuss with him. Then we will see what happens,’ said BCB’s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus on Friday.
The left-handed batsman scored 8,313 runs in the 241 ODIs he played for Bangladesh, hitting 14 centuries — both run-scoring stats being the highest by any Bangladeshi batsman.
He retired from Twenty20 internationals in 2022.
