Tamim Iqbal denies to accept the fees offered by English county side Essex

Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal, who terminated his contract with English county side Essex due to personal reasons, has returned back to his homeland without receiving a single penny. The flamboyant left-hander had a contract with Essex to play eight matches in the NatWest T20 Blast 2017 with a remuneration of three thousand British Pounds per match.

But his sudden exit from the team after playing a solitary match implied that his contract was breached. Tamim was paid some advance amount by the county team which he returned to the team authorities before leaving England. He took this decision after his wife Ayesha Siddiqa received racial slurs for wearing a hijab. She was a victim of a racially-motivated incident in Stratford in East London.

According to reports, it’s being speculated that his family was the victim of a hate crime. Also, Tamim’s arrival in the UK coincided with the Stratford protests against the recent acid attacks and Islamophobia in East London. Thus, following the mishap, Iqbal ended his county cricket stint with Essex.

Tamim Iqbal rejects the offer gracefully

The club authorities even requested Tamim to take some money as he already played a match for them but the dynamic opener denied their offer gracefully. According to bdcrictime, Tamim said, “I’ve done nothing for the team; so I’m returning the money to you. The team would be in trouble after my sudden departure and you will have to replace a new recruit. So I cannot take the money. I’m sorry for everything.”

Although the 28-year-old’s stint with the Eagles ended on a disappointing note, it was widely expected that he would make a significant contribution. His form at the Champions Trophy has been a testament to that. Tamim scored a century against hosts England and averaged 73.25 in the recently concluded CT2017 which helped his side reach their maiden ICC semi-finals.