Legendary Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal could not go out of cricket on his own terms last year and he is now standing in a weird place where there is room for a potential return as well. However, Tamim Iqbal had stepped away from international cricket in 2023 but he was encouraged to reverse his decision by powerful figures like the then-president Sheikh Hasina and former captain Mashrafe Mortaza as well.
However, his return has not been a fruitful one.

“The way I finished, it wasn’t pleasant. So, for me to come back and play, I need to have a purpose. I am not someone who would come back for the heck of it and then play just four or five games. What is the point? Everybody says, ‘Come back, we want you’, but if I turn up for five games, will that help Bangladesh cricket? If there is a proper plan in terms of what they want to do and achieve, then I can think about it and we can talk accordingly,” Tamim Iqbal told Sportstar.

ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya shares happiness after winning back the love of fans

While Bangladesh have had nearly set opening combinations in both Tests and ODIs of late, Tamim Iqbal’s experience would be helpful
in a batting unit as well.

“If they (the BCB) tell me that we want to win the Champions Trophy or at least we want to qualify for the semifinals, and this will probably be the last tournament that the three or four senior players would play regardless of whatever the differences are and that the BCB will fix it. This is the way to approach people,” Tamim Iqbal added.

ALSO READ: “Shubman’s captaincy is very good” – Ravi Bishnoi on Shubman Gill

“Yeah, obviously. But the thing is – do I play for the cricket board, or do I play for the team? Where should this approach (request) come from? The cricket board looks after me but the players also need to be welcoming,” Tamim said in the aforementioned interview. “You can have bad relationships, or there could be differences with people, but when it comes to the national interest, everybody should be one and there should not be any vindictiveness. Unfortunately, that happened,” Tamim Iqbal concluded.