Tamim Iqbal not playing at the 2023 ODI World Cup for Bangladesh was a decision the southpaw took himself. A decision he took two months after a quick U-turn from his call of retiring from the sport altogether.
But on Wednesday, a day after Bangladesh announced their squad for the upcoming tournament in India, Tamim would reveal the reason behind his absence from the same in a Facebook video.
“Someone called me from the top level of the board who is very involved with our cricket. He said that if you go to the World Cup you have to play the matches by managing your (back) injury. So, you better do one thing, don’t play the first match against Afghanistan (on October 7),” Tamim revealed.
“I replied that the Afghanistan match is still 12/13 days away. In 12/13 days, I will be in better condition. Why shouldn’t I play? Then, he said that if you play you have to bat down the order. After hearing this, I am shocked, as I have never in my 17-year career batted down the order. I feel like I’m being forced to do many things. I said, ‘Look, if you have such thoughts then don’t send me. I don’t want to be in this mess. I don’t want to be part of this dirty game. You make me face something new every day. I don’t want to stay here’,” he added.
Tamim was part of the Bangladesh squad that played the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand at home and hit 44 in the second ODI on September 23 – his first innings back in international cricket since reversing his decision to retire in July. It was also followed by an injury layoff which forced him to miss this month’s Asia Cup.
“I was very happy after that game, 44 is not a big score, but I was very happy at the way I batted. I felt confident,” said Tamim, who believes he was in decent shape for the World Cup.
The left handed opener, who is the only Bangladesh batter to have scored a hundred for the national team across all formats, also cleared the air around local media reports that claimed Tamim had told the selectors that he would play just five matches in the World Cup considering his long-term back injury.
“The medical department believed that if I was rested and played the second warm-up match (against England) on October 2, I would get enough time (to prepare) ahead of the first World Cup match. I am sure chief selector Minhajul Abedin also denied the report that I told him that I would play five matches in the World Cup,” the 34-year-old concluded.
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