BCB Chief Selector rubbishes reports about Tamim Iqbal asking for a sabbatical

Days after the ace Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan asked for a sabbatical break, rumors started surfacing about the opener Tamim Iqbal asking for the same too. Some of the reports suggested that the veteran batsman requested the cricket board to grant him a sabbatical leave. His request seemed to have been on the lines of the request made by his teammate Shakib Al Hasan.

After the conclusion of their most recent international assignment – a two-match Test series against Australia at home – Shakib broke the media headlines with his demand for a break from cricket. He cited personal reasons and fatigue for having asked for the sabbatical break. If the break is granted to the all-rounder, he will most likely miss out on playing the two Test matches in the upcoming Bangladesh tour of South Africa.

However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Cricket Operations Committee Chairman Akram Khan recently noted that Shakib will be given an offer to play in the second Test of the tour if he wishes to do so. This will be the first overseas tour for Bangladesh after they played in Sri Lanka earlier this year. The remarks from Akram Khan clearly suggest that the board is keen on convincing Shakib to postpone his break.

No news about Tamim

Meanwhile, Akram Khan and the BCB Chief Selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu have remarked that they have not received any such requests from Tamim Iqbal. As per the quotes in bdcrictime, the chief selector quashed all such rumors of Tamim Iqbal asking for the sabbatical. He mentioned that the board will talk to Tamim after he returns from Pakistan, where he is playing for World XI.

“Tamim is still in Pakistan. Let him come first, then we will clear everything. I don’t know anything about it yet. I don’t know anything about it. Tamim wants a break, such rumors didn’t come to my ears,” quoted the BCB Chief Selector.