Tamim Iqbal misses the T20I central contract while Mahmudullah gets excluded from Tests

The central contracts by Bangladesh Cricket Board across different formats are yet to be announced officially but chairman Nazmul Hassan Papon opened up on some important takeaways from the same. ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal has missed the T20I central contract whereas T20I skipper Mahmudullah Riyad got axed from contracts of Test format, confirmed Papon after the board meeting on September 01.

Papon also cleared the reasons for the exclusion of both cricketers. Mahmudullah has quit the longest format of the game and since then, there have been no talks between him and BCB. On the other hand, Tamim has been missing out on the T20I format for a long time and has also opted out of the upcoming T20 WC 2021.

“The contract is effective from May to December. As Tamim opted out from the T20 World Cup and there is no further series till December, he misses out in the shortest format. But he is in the list of ODIs and Tests,” said Papon as quoted by the Business Standard.

“Since Mahmudullah retired from Test cricket, we haven’t talked face-to-face. So, he misses out on the Test contract. Tamim will be included if he wants to play T20Is again,” he said.

Talking about Tamim Iqbal, he has only been part of three T20Is since January 2019. He went on to say that he has missed the last 15-16 T20Is and it would not be a fair idea to take place ahead of those who performed consistently in those games. “Since I didn’t take part in the last 15-16 T20Is, it will not be fair to suddenly come and take the place of the others who played well in those games,” he added.

Bangladesh unhappy with Mahmudullah’s decision

Mahmudullah made his abrupt announcement of quitting the Test format in July while he was playing against Zimbabwe. Papon didn’t seem happy with his decision and criticized him in the meeting by adding that no player can go on taking sudden calls like this.

“We knew about Tamim. But Mahmudullah’s one was unexpected. This is not the way. No player can make a sudden announcement like this,” he added.