Tamim Iqbal reverses retirement decision after Bangladesh PM’s intervention

The 34-year old cricketer met the Prime Minister at her residence with his wife, his former captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan and later briefed the media about his decision

Dhaka: A day after announcing his shocking retirement from international cricket, veteran Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal on Friday reversed his decision after intervention from country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The 34-year old cricketer met the Prime Minister at her residence with his wife, his former captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan and later briefed the media about his decision.

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“Today afternoon, the Prime Minister invited me to her house. She admonished me and asked me to play again, so I have decided to come out of retirement at this moment,” Tamim was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “I can say no to everyone but it was impossible for me to say no to someone of the PM’s authority. Papon (Nazmul Hasan) bhai, Mashrafe (Mortaza) bhai were big, big factors too. Mashrafe bhai called me here and Papon bhai was also here.

The Prime Minister also gave me a one and a half month break for my treatment and other things. After becoming mentally free, I will play the rest of the matches,” he added. Earlier, in an emotional press conference on Thursday, Tamim had made a shocking retirement announcement.

The decision came a day after he had captained Bangladesh in the first ODI against Afghanistan. Tamim’s retirement had come as a surprise months before the 2023 World Cup in India but incidentally came on the heels of his public face-off with the management.

The BCB president in particular, was critical of Tamim admitting in a press conference that he wasn’t fully fit for the opening ODI against Afghanistan but will still play. Once Tamim announced that he’s played his last international game, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) called an emergency meeting and appointed Litton Das as the interim captain for the remaining two ODIs against Afghanistan. Nazmul, addressing the media late in the night, also publicly asked Tamim to take back his “emotional” and “hasty” decision. “I assumed that he took the decision emotionally. Of course it’s a big relief. If we don’t have a captain, how can we play?”

BCB President Nazmul told the media after Tamim’s statement outside the PM’s residence. “I knew that if I could sit with him and talk, I could convince him. Today we were called on by the Prime Minister. Tamim said he would withdraw his retirement letter. But he has taken one and a half months leave to regain his physical and mental fitness,” he added.