Tamim’s legacy as captain defined by his departure
In cricket, the question that inevitably comes up after a captain steps down or is sacked from his post is – What will be his legacy as captain?
On Thursday night, Tamim Iqbal stepped down as the captain of the Bangladesh One-Day International (ODI) team after leading the team in the 50-over format for around three-and-a-half years.
Tamim made the announcement in a press conference in Gulshan, where he was sitting beside Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan and BCB’s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus.
A little less than a month ago, Tamim was in another press conference that took place in Chattogram. In that press conference, no one from the board was sitting beside him. He was sitting all alone, with tears welling up in his eyes in front of a room packed with media personnel waiting to hear what he had to say.
Tamim spoke with a quivering voice and announced that he is hanging up his boots and retiring from international cricket.
In less than 30 hours, Tamim again appeared on TV screens all across the country, this time with a smile. He announced he is unretiring as prime minister Sheikh Hasina wants him to continue playing for Bangladesh.
A lot has been said about the retirement and unretirement of Tamim. But what hasn’t been talked about enough is how it exposed the fickle nature of the world of social media.
Tamim’s poor form, lack of fitness and dearth of runs had earned him a lot of flak leading up to his retirement.
Once retired, the social media platforms were now flooded with tributes for the opener, with everyone hailing him as one of the greats of Bangladesh cricket and many pleading him to reconsider his retirement.
The next day, when he reversed his decision, social media once again turned against him, panning him for changing his mind. Memes started circulating on social media about Tamim’s prompt unretirement. Some even went as far as saying that Tamim’s retirement was a ploy to gain attention.
But amidst all of this, everyone seemingly forgot one thing– Tamim’s willingness to put the team ahead of himself.
“The team should always come first,” This is a line Tamim often uses in his press conferences. On that day in Chattogram, when Tamim announced his retirement just three months before a World Cup where he was supposed to lead the team, he was practising what he always preached.
His desire to quit the game was influenced by many factors. His injury, the flak he receives on social media, the rude comments made by the BCB president and perhaps some undisclosed reasons inside the team were all factors in his sudden decision.
But Tamim’s decision also shows that he is a man of integrity, as he was willing to sacrifice his dream of leading the team in the World Cup as he deep down knew that he wasn’t fully fit to perform the duty as a captain.
“Then why did he reverse his decision,” you may ask.
Well, I don’t have to answer that question, Tamim answered it himself, “Can’t say no to our Honourable Prime Minister.”
Now, about a month later, after getting injections for his ailing back in London which the physicians and physios in the BCB had, as per Tamim, misdiagnosed, the opener sat in another press conference and announced he would no longer captain the Bangladesh team.
In the press conference, Tamim corroborated what had already been in the media for some time. The injections Tamim took are not foolproof and the pain could return at any time.
If Tamim’s rehabilitation process goes as planned, he should be fit well before the World Cup. The BCB president had repeatedly said that Tamim would continue as captain till the World Cup. So the board was also behind him.
Still, he decided that he would no longer lead the Tigers.
Now, coming back to the original question, what will be Tamim's legacy as captain?
Firstly, Tamim had a lot going in his favour as captain. He had a good mix of experienced and young players in the squad, a fit and firing pace attack for most matches and a group of players who knew how to do well in the 50-over format.
But there were also challenges. His back injury has troubled him since February this year and in the end, it forced him to let go of captaincy just two months before the World Cup.
The rift with Shakib Al Hasan becoming public knowledge and his dramatic retirement and prompt unretirement didn’t help his legacy as captain.
His returns with the bat also dipped during this period, as his average as captain was 33.29, lower than his career average of 36.62.
But overall, Bangladesh remained a formidable ODI side under his leadership, barring the slip-ups against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan they won the series they were expected to win and achieved a monumental series win over the Proteas.
But Tamim’s legacy as captain will not be defined by any of these things. His legacy will be defined by his departure.
Tamim could’ve continued as captain and played in the World Cup as a half-fit player. But the Chattogram batter took the high road, and let go of captaincy to give the board a chance to pick a skipper who would be available throughout the competition. He had the chance to cling to his position but chose to step aside with his dignity intact.
A captain who put his team above himself and knew when it was time to step aside, this will be the lasting legacy of Tamim Iqbal the captain.