Tamim Iqbal slams Bangladesh Cricket Board following World Cup squad snub

Tamim Iqbal has rubbished reports claiming the he had pulled out of the ODI World Cup squad due to fitness concerns. Tamim cleared his stance on the matter through a video shared on Facebook. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) unveiled their 15-man team for the marquee tournament this week. Led by veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, the squad boasts a mix of talent and experience. However, it came as a shock for many as Tamim, arguably the country’s best batter in recent times, failed to make the cut. Following the squad announcement, Minhajul Abedin, the chairman of the Bangladesh team selection panel, cited Tamim’s long-persistent back injury as the reason behind his snub. The BCB hierarchy assumed that the opener’s injury could recur at any point in the tournament. That’s why they decided not to take that risk. According to Abedin, Tamim himself was part of the discussion and he was well aware of the decision. “We considered his injury concern when not taking him in the squad. We have spoken to all concerned, before taking this decision. We discussed it with Tamim and with the team management. We didn’t want to take a risk in a long World Cup campaign as it’s an important event,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Abedin as saying. There were several local media reports that Tamim himself asked the selectors to not include him as he would be able to feature in only five games in the World Cup owing to the injury struggle. But in a social media outburst, Tamim has claimed that someone from the board pressured him to bat down the order if he goes to the World Cup. The person allegedly forbade the cricketer to play the opening game against Afghanistan, underlining his injury issues.

“I responded that there are still 12–13 days until the Afghanistan match and I will be in better shape by that time. The person then said that if you play, you must bat lower in the order. I was startled to hear this because, in my 17-year-long career, I’ve never batted down the order. I said, ‘Look, then don’t send me if you have these kinds of feelings. I don’t want to participate in this dirty game’,” Tamim revealed in the Facebook video. Captain Shakib Al Hasan addressed Tamim’s claims during an interaction with a Dhaka-based TV channel, T-Sports. According to him, the person who told the opener to bat down in the order made the decision for the sake of the team. “I am sure someone who is authorised had said this to him. I am sure whoever has said it, he thought of the team. A lot of things go into building a combination for a match,” Shakib explained. He also dug out a reference to Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who used to bat down in the order in the early days of his career before becoming a permanent opener. “It is totally childish. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first,” the Bangladesh all-rounder added. Earlier in July, Tamim announced his retirement from one-day international cricket after leading the Bangladesh unit to a 17-run loss to Afghanistan in an ODI game. However, he changed his mind following a meeting with the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Tamim recently represented Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series against New Zealand and struck 44 runs in the second match.