Vaibhav Tripathi
Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer in ODIs, was excluded from Bangladesh’s 15-man squad for the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup. Shakib Al Hasan, recently reappointed as the team’s captain in ODIs, will continue to lead the side in the tournament, scheduled to begin in India on October 5.
It is believed that Tamim informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that he would play only five matches in the tournament due to a back injury. Tamim, a veteran of 243 ODI games, had announced his retirement earlier in the year because of that injury. However, following an intervention from Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Tamim withdrew his decision to retire.
“We discussed it with Tamim. We can’t tell you what we spoke about. We discussed it with the team management and didn’t want to take a risk in a long World Cup campaign. It is a very important event,” BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin explained the decision to exclude Tamim.
While Tamim has been excluded from the squad, another veteran, Mahmudullah, who was omitted for the Asia Cup 2023, has been selected for the upcoming mega event. Bangladesh is scheduled to play warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and England before commencing their World Cup campaign. Shakib-led Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in their opening World Cup match at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on October 7.
Bangladesh’s World Cup Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (vc), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Mahmudullah