Tamim Iqbal Announced His International Retirement Three Months Before the World Cup
Tamim Iqbal announced his surprise retirement from international cricket on Thursday. This comes three months before Bangladesh begins its ODI World Cup campaign in India. The last time he played a Test was in April, after retiring from T20. Bangladesh is currently playing Afghanistan in a series.
While Tamim failed to shine in the first ODI, the team lost the first match. Even though he wasn’t fit for the opener, he decided to play.
Tamim Iqbal – Shocking Retirement from International Cricket
At noon (local time), Tamim Iqbal abruptly called a press conference and gave the news. He was so moved by the news that he started crying as well. With only three months until the World Cup in India, Tamim’s decision has really shocked Bangladeshi cricket fans.
“For me, this is the end. I gave it my all. I am currently announcing my retirement from international cricket. The last international game I played was against Afghanistan yesterday.
“It was not an impulsive choice. This was on my mind for a variety of reasons. I won’t mention it here. I’ve discussed it with my family members. In an emotional press appearance in Chattogram, Iqbal was quoted as saying, “I thought this is the right time for me to retire from cricket.”
The Tigers no longer have a captain in the format because they have already moved to the final game of the series. Litton Das currently leads Bangladesh in tests, while Shakib Al Hasan currently serves as the T20I captain. It is uncertain if the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will name one of them captain, at the very least through the World Cup.
Tamim Iqbal – Career Review
In 2007, Tamim made his ODI debut, and the next year, he took part in his first Test. He beat Ireland and scored his first century. Against the England cricket team at Lord’s Stadium, he is the only Bangladeshi batsman to reach the century mark.
In December 2010 to September 2011, he was the national team’s vice-captain. Tamim became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to reach 50 ODI half-centuries in March 2021. The most runs of any Bangladeshi batsman to date, he scored more than 15,000 in his whole career. Tamim has scored 25 hundred overall in global cricket, making him Bangladesh’s leading century-maker.
Iqbal made his debut for Bangladesh at the global level in February 2007. He played in 241 ODIs, scoring 8,313 runs and 14 centuries—both records for a batter from that nation—while making his debut.
The veteran opener stunned everyone with a lightning-quick fifty in an upset victory over India in the 2007 ODI World Cup. He is also the only Bangladeshi batsman to have scored hundreds in all three game formats and had already retired from T20 Internationals in 2022.
A Memorable Cricketing Career
Tamim Iqbal was the second-best batter for Bangladesh, with 5,134 runs in 70 Test matches at an average of 38.89, including ten hundred. Tamim led Bangladesh to a third-place finish in the ODI Super League with 21 victories out of 37 games while serving as the team’s ODI captain, securing their straight qualifying for the World Cup in India later in the year.
He is only the second Bangladeshi player to get the honor when he was one of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack’s four Cricketers of the Year in 2011 and Wisden’s Test Player of the Year. In the 2016 T20 WC, he scored 295 runs, which was the most.
The only cricketer from Bangladesh to make hundreds in each of the three-game formats is him. In the Asia Cup, he is the only player to have four straight half-centuries. He is the only player in a three-match ODI series that had at least two centuries three times. In one-day international cricket from Bangladesh, he also holds the record for most hundreds scored.
After Mashrafe Mortaza quit as Bangladesh’s ODI captain during the Zimbabwe series in March 2020, Tamim was named the team’s new captain on March 8, 2020.
Bangladesh played their first ODI series against the Windies in January 2021 after he took the role of full-time ODI captain. He was the series’ leading run scorer with 158 runs in three games as Bangladesh went on to win the series 3-0.
Sri Lanka came to Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series in May 2021. Bangladesh won the first two games, lost the third, and finally won 2-1 to take the ODI series. It was Bangladesh’s first victory over Sri Lanka in a bilateral series.
