Newly elected Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed has shared his desire to see veteran player Tamim Iqbal play for the nation for a couple of years more. However, his last appearance came for Bangladesh during the ODI series against New Zealand at home before the 2023 ODI World Cup as well. And, Tamim announced his retirement from international cricket in July 2023, ahead of the 2023 Asia Cup.
In the first press conference after taking over as BCB president, Faruque Ahmed said, “I will have to talk to him [Tamim]. He is a very sensible boy. I feel that he is one of the best from Bangladesh. Personally, if you ask me, I would want him to play for two-three more years. But me wanting that doesn’t mean it will happen. We will have to see what his fitness is like.”
However, Tamim Iqbal retired from T20Is in 2022, while his last red-ball match came against Ireland in early 2023. The BCB president also
admitted that playing Test cricket might prove to be difficult for Tamim at his age, but he is hopeful about him featuring in ODIs for the
upcoming future.
“We have to see the format that the relevant department is regarding these matters. Tests maybe difficult but it’s good if it’s ODIs. Whatever
he does, it’s good if he can play and if he can’t play then if he comes to the board I will be very happy. He has leadership qualities and if guys
like him come [to the board] we can do something good,” Faruque again added.
However, after reversing his retirement, Tamim Iqbal was expected to play a massive role in the 2023 ODI World Cup in the subcontinent with his experience. But with Bangladesh looking to try out youngsters at the top of the order, Iqbal was asked to bat in the middle order.
“The person on the other side of the line told me that I might be dropped for the Afghanistan game [Bangladesh’s first in the World Cup], and even if I play, I may have to bat down the order,” Tamim Iqbal said in a Facebook video. “Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener, scored 10,000-plus runs. If he sometimes bats at No 3 or 4, would it be a big problem? It is totally childish. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first,” Shakib Al Hasan said Dhaka-based TV channel T-Sports after Tamim’s claims as well.
