BCB tried to deter Tamim, but failed

Although Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) tried to deter Tamim Iqbal from taking the decision to retire from all formats of international cricket, the One Day International (ODI) captain did not budge and announced the shock decision today, Thursday.

BCB has not yet given any official reaction to the retirement of Tamim.

BCB cricket development chief Jalal Yunus told Prothom Alo over phone today, “We will not make any comment on it now. We will discuss the matter among ourselves, also with Tamim. Then we would make an official comment on this on 8 July.”

Jalal Yunus also did not say anything on who will lead the team in the remaining two ODIs in the ongoing series against Afghanistan.

Jalal said the decision would be taken tomorrow. As Litton Das is the unofficial vice-captain of the ongoing series, he might captain the team in the remainder of the series. 

Tamim on 4 July night informed the journalists who are in Chattogram to cover the series, about arranging a press conference today.

Tamim’s decision to hold the press conference reached the BCB highups including president Nazmul Hassan last night but they could not reach him. Tamim did not respond to their calls, did not reply to their text messages.

Two BCB directors could finally contact Tamim this morning and they requested him not to take the decision of retirement. They also told Tamim that the board sticks to its plan to keep him as ODI captain till the upcoming World Cup in India. Also, the directors told Tamim that he could easily play on for two more years as a batsman. But Tamim stuck to his guns.

The two board directors then even told Tamim that he can take rest from the ongoing series, take treatment for the back pain he has been suffering from to become fully fit before the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup. But, Tamim refused the request.

Although Tamim did not say anything about the reason for his sudden decision to retire, it can be assumed that the BCB president’s recent remarks on his fitness might have hurt him. Tamim’s fitness and opting out from series for rests spawned some discussions in the past too. But Tamim, who had been playing international cricket for 16 years, might have been exasperated by such continuous harping on fitness.

It was learnt that before taking the decision of retirement, Tamim broached these issues in his conversations with the BCB officials. He also has some grudge against coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Tamim reportedly has said that he is not in a mental state to withstand the pressure and rather prefers spending time with family instead of continuing to play. Tamim left the team hotel for home after the press conference.

Tamim told the press conference that he did not take the decision abruptly but had been discussing the matter with his family for quite some time. But it was learnt that Tamim wanted to retire only from Test cricket and play ODI cricket till the World Cup. But that did not happen as he bid a tearful adieu to international cricket today.