Mashrafe says he was disappointed to see Tamim ‘so weak’
Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza revealed that he was disappointed with Tamim Iqbal when he announced his shock retirement from international cricket earlier this month and expressed his belief that the opener will return to his best once he fully recovers from his back injury.
“Tamim didn’t fully disclose to me exactly what he was going through. But I was really disappointed to see Tamim so weak,” Mashrafe said during an event at the Daffodil International University on Wednesday.
“He is an international cricketer, many people had spoken up for him. Naturally, I never thought Tamim wouldn’t be able to stand up for himself. But sometimes people break down, on those occasions they require support,” Mashrafe added.
Tamim had announced his retirement from international cricket out of the blue on 6 July. But less than 30 hours later, the Southpaw reversed his decision after a meeting with prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Mashrafe and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan were also present in that meeting.
Mashrafe revealed that the PM wanted Tamim play in the World cup, “In this case I will say that Tamim is really lucky. The honourable prime minister Sheikh Hasina called him, spoke with him and brought him back to cricket. Not everyone is this fortunate.”
Even though the retirement saga has ended, Tamim has remained in the news. There are many rumours circulating about Tamim’s back injury. There are speculations over whether or not Bangladesh will get a fully fit Tamim in the Asia Cup and the ICC World Cup.
Mashrafe, who played a major part in Tamim’s retirement reversal, said that Tamim should come back only after completely healing from his injury, “Right now, his injury is bothering him. Tamim is not performing well, why is that? Because he is injured. Then what should be done? He needs to heal from his injury. Now, he should only focus on his injury. Once he gets fit, I’m sure he will automatically score runs and return to his best form.”
Tamim said that he wants Mashrafe to be the Bangladesh team’s mentor in the next World Cup. He expressed that desire to the PM and she has also instructed Mashrafe to be prepared.
Mashrafe didn’t respond to the proposition then. Even on Wednesday, the former captain dodged the question, “That’s a different matter altogether. I don’t have anything set on my mind. I’ve said this before, I don’t have my mind set on anything. The question you are asking, I have no answer to that question. I don’t know anything. I only know what I need to do right now in the present. Whatever comes up tomorrow, I’ll do that then. I don’t have the time to think about what I’ll do after tomorrow.”
Mashrafe then also said that he is unsure about the roles and responsibility of a mentor, “What’s the benefit of having a mentor? Can you explain it to me? I don’t know why he (Mashrafe) is asking for it… I don’t know what a mentor is supposed to do. If that situation arises, then maybe I can say. Right now if you ask me, I don’t have any answer to that question.”