Published 19:07 IST, July 7th 2023

Retired on Thursday, back on Friday: Tamim Iqbal's retirement lasts for only 24 hours

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal withdraws his decision to retire from international cricket after intervention from Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Reported by: Anirban Sarkar
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Tamim Iqbal reverses decision to retire after Bangladesh PM's intervention (Image: Mashrafe Mortaza) | Image: self
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Tamim Iqbal has withdrawn his retirement decision following the intervention of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Tamim's announcement proved to be shocking for the cricket fraternity with the World Cup just three months away. The 34-year-old addressed the media outside the Prime Minister's residence with BCB president Nazmul Hassan also present on the occasion.

3 Things you need to know

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  • Tamim is nine matches short to breach the 250-game milestone in ODI
  • He has accumulated over 8000 runs in the limited-over format
  • Tamim made his ODI debut in 2007 against Zimbabwe

In a shocking development, Bangladesh's ODI captain Tamim announced his decision to retire from international cricket just three months before the highly-anticipated ICC Cricket World Cup. The development took place on Thursday, a day after Bangladesh lost an ODI game to Afghanistan. Tamim confirmed his retirement at a press conference, which was attended by hundreds of media persons. 

ALSO READ | Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal breaks down in tears as he announces retirement | WATCH

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Tamim Iqbal's one-day retirement ends on Friday

Tamim made the announcement following Bangladesh's defeat against Afghanistan in the first ODI match of the three-match series. Tamim insisted the decision was not hastily taken and he had good food for thought before finalising his decision.

As quoted by ESPNCricinfo he said, "This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket from this moment. Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game. It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about the different reasons. I don't want to mention here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this is the right time for me to retire from international cricket."

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He further added, "I need to thank a few people, which they deserve. (Pauses, and takes a deep breath). I have always said that I played cricket (long pause, deep breath) to fulfil my father's dream. So I am not sure how much I have made him proud throughout these 16 years of my international career."

It is not a proper decision: BCB President Nazmul Hassan 

Earlier, BCB President Nazmul Hassan had already served an ultimatum to Tamim as he informed the media that he won't accept his retirement as Bangladesh are about to take part in the Asia Cup followed by the World Cup.

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As quoted by ESPNCricinfo, “I don’t accept his retirement announcement. He is the captain, we have the Asia Cup and World Cup ahead of us. It is not a wise decision. It seems he has been thinking about it for a long time. It is not taken spontaneously. It is not a proper decision.”

Tamim was the captain of the Bangladesh ODI squad and his decision forced BCB to name Litton Das as an interim skipper for the second and third ODI.

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It remains to be seen whether the player will be reinstated to his position on the eve of the ICC Cricket World Cup later this year.

18:27 IST, July 7th 2023