- Monday, July 01, 2024
The opening batter, who played for more than 16 years of international cricket, did not want to reveal the reason for his shocking call.
By: Shubham Ghosh
BANGLADESH cricket fans were in for a major shock on Thursday (6) when the country’s captain in 50-over cricket, Tamim Iqbal, quit international cricket in an emotional press conference. The 34-year-old opening batter’s decision was revealed just three months before the world cup in India, making the blow even bigger.
Surrounded by reporters in the press meet that he arranged in Chattogram after Bangladesh lost the rain-hit opening one-day international (ODI) against Afghanistan by 17 runs a day ago, Iqbal broke down as he made the announcement, concluding a 16-year international career.
Tamim Iqbal sobbing and struggling to speak while announcing his retirement is the most heart breaking thing you will see today on #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/B2MIqqfZDN
— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) July 6, 2023
He said the decision was not sudden but did not want to reveal the reason for his shocking call.
Bangladeshi cricket fans were seen crying in disbelief after Iqbal announced his decision to quit the game.
Bangladesh Fan Cry In Road Amidst Rain As Tamim Iqbal Announce Shocking Retirement, Other People Console Him.
? : Bdcrictime pic.twitter.com/jua2OKtgQf
— বাংলার ছেলে ?? (@iSoumikSaheb) July 6, 2023
“This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket from this moment,” Iqbal said.
“Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game. It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about the different reasons. I don’t want to mention here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this is the right time for me to retire from international cricket.
“I need to thank a few people, which they deserve. (Pauses, and takes a deep breath). I have always said that I played cricket (long pause, deep breath) to fulfil my father’s dream. So I am not sure how much I have made him proud throughout these 16 years of my international career.
“I don’t have much to say. One thing I will definitely say is, I tried my best. I did try my best. Maybe I was not good enough or good enough. I don’t know. But I tried my 100 per cent whenever I was in the field,” the cricketer said as he sobbed.
Iqbal, who scored more than 15,000 international runs with 25 hundreds, retired from the T20s last year. His last appearance in Tests was against Ireland in a one-off match at home in April.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board was yet to name a new captain, ESPNcricinfo added. It hadn’t named a vice captain for the three-match series against Afghanistan. It also did not react to Iqbal’s announcement. Shakib Al Hasan, who is arguably the best player that the Asian country has produced in cricket, is likely to take over the reins, particularly with the big tournament approaching in a few months.
Iqbal has scored the most number of runs (8,313) and centuries (14) for Bangladesh in ODIs and is the third-highest scorer among current cricketers, trailing only India’s big two — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
As a captain in the 50-over format, Iqbal has a slightly better win percentage than former cricketer Mashrafe Mortaza, known to be the best skipper in Bangladesh’s cricket history. Out of 37 matches that he captained, Iqbal led to 21 wins.
