Tamim Iqbal, the ODI captain of the Bangladesh cricket team, has announced his retirement from international cricket, marking the end of a remarkable 16-year-long career.
Bangladesh's ODI captain, Tamim Iqbal, has made the surprising decision to retire from international cricket after a 16-year-long career at the highest level. The senior batter, who missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan last month due to a stiff back, made himself available for the ODI series. However, after featuring in the first ODI on Wednesday, Tamim has decided to call it quits with immediate effect. This retirement comes just three months before the ODI World Cup in India. Litton Das, who led the team in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, is Tamim's deputy in the 50-over format, but it remains uncertain whether he will take over the ODI captaincy.
"It was not a sudden decision. I have been in talks with my family. I always have said I played to fulfill the dream of my father," Tamim said in a teary-eyed press conference.
"I don't have much to say. One thing I will definitely say is, I tried my best. I did try my best. Maybe I was not good enough or good enough. I don't know. But I tried my 100% whenever I was in the field," Tamim said.
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Tamim's last match was his 241st ODI, a format in which he amassed an impressive 8313 runs - the highest for Bangladesh. Among active cricketers, only Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have scored more in ODIs. In Test cricket, Tamim has played 70 matches and has the second-highest run tally for Bangladesh batters in the format, accumulating 5134 runs. He also featured in 87 T20Is before retiring from the format in July 2022. Notably, Tamim leaves the game not only as one of Bangladesh's best all-format batsmen but also as the only player from his country to score a century in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.
The 34-year-old left-hander has been a key pillar of Bangladesh's batting lineup since making his ODI debut in early 2007. His first ODI fifty came against India at the ODI World Cup in the same year, where Bangladesh created a stunning upset. He registered his maiden ODI century a year later but delivered a memorable performance against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. In that game, Tamim spearheaded Bangladesh's successful chase of 313 with a remarkable 138-ball 154, surpassing his previous highest score of 194. In 2020, he set a new personal record with a remarkable 158 in a narrow victory against the same opposition.
Tamim took over as the full-time ODI captain from Mashrafe Mortaza in March 2020 during the home series against Zimbabwe. Under his leadership, the team achieved 21 wins out of 37 games. He also left his mark in the longest format, scoring his first Test century against the West Indies in Kingstown in 2009, which coincided with Bangladesh's first-ever overseas Test win. In total, Tamim recorded 10 Test centuries, including a magnificent 206 off just 278 balls against Pakistan in Khulna in 2015.
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