Vaibhav Tripathi
Veteran Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has spoken out about his omission from the 2023 World Cup squad. Tamim expressed his reluctance to agree to unrealistic expectations from the think-tank. In his comments, Tamim indirectly criticized a senior Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official, suggesting that he chose not to participate in the World Cup following disagreements regarding his fitness and batting position.
“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),” he said in an emotional video on his Facebook.
“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’.”
Star all-rounder Shakib took over the captaincy from Tamim, when the latter decided to step down from the role earlier this year. While Tamim was absent during the Asia Cup due to fitness issues, he was included in the squad for the three-match home ODI series against New Zealand before being omitted from the 2023 World Cup squad.