Courtesy: Google
Tamim Iqbal, one of the greatest cricketers in Bangladesh history, is having a discussion with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) selectors about potentially returning to international cricket during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With the deadline to announce the final squad for the tournament being January 12, the Bangladesh selectors are willing to wait till the last moment for the former captain to make his mind up about playing for the country again.
Notably, Tamim Iqbal, 35, had announced his retirement from international cricket in July 2023 after having a fall out with then BCB President Nazmul Hassan, and it led to Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladesh Prime Minister at the time, intervening to have him change his decision the very next day. After that, he also gave up his captaincy, but returned to play against New Zealand for two ODIs in September, and then, the selectors dropped him from the ODI World Cup 2023 squad, following which he hasn’t played for Bangladesh.
Tamim Iqbal has led Fortune Barishal to BPL title after playing his last match for Bangladesh in 2023
Since then, Tamim Iqbal, who has been a part of domestic cricket, captained Fortune Barishal to the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024 title, and he is currently leading their title defence. In Sylhet, where the 2024-25 edition of tournament is being played currently, Tamim Iqbal met with the Bangladesh chief selector, Gazi Ashraf Hossain, at the team hotel, where they had discussion about him potentially returning to the Bangladesh set up.
In his interview for ESPNcricinfo, the Bangladesh chief selector was quoted as saying, “We held a primary discussion with Tamim. We have to announce the Champions Trophy team by January 12, so we have a bit of time. We want to let him take time, not be in a hurry to decide. We have spoken to him on behalf of the board. The player has to come to a decision after speaking to his family, friends and well-wishers. He is also in the middle of a tournament so he will need a bit of time.”
Gazi Ashraf Hossain also spoke about being respectful towards Tamim Iqbal as he makes his mind about whether to play for Bangladesh again. “We have four days left [before announcing the squad]. We have done our homework, so we know how things will shape up. We pay respect to a cricketer like Tamim Iqbal, so he can take his time before informing us. I think it's fair enough. The board is fine with this, so everyone now has to be patient,” he added.
