Tamim Iqbal should not take hasty and emotional decision, he is very important for the team: BCB President Nazmul Hasan

The head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Nazmul Hasan, expressed his hope that Tamim Iqbal would think again about his decision to retire and play again for the national team. He also said that it was regrettable that Iqbal made the abrupt choice to end his career.

Only three months before the major event, Tamim, who was supposed to captain the team at the ODI World Cup scheduled in India later this year, gave up on the sport after Bangladesh's loss in the first ODI of the current series against Afghanistan. The board now anticipates Tamim's return, saying that he hasn't “officially” retired yet. Nazmul told the reporters after sitting down with his board members for an emergency meeting in a city hotel.

“The reason why we sat today is that suddenly we have seen that Tamim announced in the media that he retired. It was totally unexpected for us because we have had regular communication... and because he was the ODI skipper, even three days back we spoke with him about the squad and even today I have spoken with him,” Nazmul was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“I did not have any clue that this kind of decision can come. I have spoken with him personally about his future and he said that he will play till the next Champions Trophy and later he spoke about World Cup captaincy with Jalal bhai (BCB cricket operation chairman) and I told him that he is the captain. As the World Cup is close there were no talks about change of captaincy and from a player like him when such things (announcement of sudden retirement) come it is very unfortunate,” Nazmul said.

To me, Tamim is the ODI skipper and it remains that way till now: Hasan

Tamim’s retirement news surely shocked the world, as he was supposed to lead Bangladesh in the all-important ODI World Cup 2023, which is scheduled to take place in India starting October 5. It would be difficult for Bangladesh to fill the void if the board members fail to convince Tamim Iqbal to return to international cricket. 

“I am trying to communicate with him since the morning and later tried with Nafees Iqbal (Tamim's brother and manager of Bangladesh team) but still could not get hold of him. A legendary cricketer like him should not take hasty and emotional decision and he is very important for the team,” Nazmul further stated.

Nazmul said that he still positively waits for a reply from Tamim, and will try his best to bring the 34-year-old back to the national side before the World Cup.

“As I have sent a message I have to wait and see if he replies. I am hoping that we can sort out the matter. It does not look good if one captain retires at the midst of the tournament and it is even not right. We want to give a good farewell but even after that if they don't want it, what can we do. To me, he is the ODI skipper and it remains that way till now,” he added.