Tamim Iqbal, the captain of Bangladesh in ODIs, is now on holiday with his family in Dubai. Prior to that, Tamim was embroiled in a retirement controversy in which he abruptly announced his retirement from the game and then announced his return less than 24 hours later following a meeting with the prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tamim will rejoin the national squad at the Asia Cup as the team’s captain, it was revealed following the meeting with the PM. Tamim is scheduled to go from Dubai to England to receive treatment for his back issues before returning to Bangladesh to serve as the team’s manager.
Regarding Tamim’s future as skipper, there is still some ambiguity. In an interview with two local media outlets before departing for Dubai, Tamim stated that he would meet with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) upon his return and that much would rely on the outcome of that meeting.
Nazmul Hassan, the president of the BCB, has no worries that Tamim would continue to lead Bangladesh in cricket’s 50-over format.
“I want to say one thing in very simple terms. Tamim will be our captain in the World Cup,” Nazmul told the press after his meeting with the national women’s team in a hotel in Dhaka on Sunday.
“As Tamim didn’t play two matches (against Afghanistan), Litton (Das) captained the team. Now, if Tamim returns he will be named the captain. If he doesn’t play, someone else will lead the team. We are not sure which matches he can play, when he will be ready to play again,” he added.
Along with the topic of captaincy, Tamim’s injury also came up. Tamim has experienced back issues for a very long period. In the two interviews he gave before leaving for Dubai, Tamim obliquely blamed some of the national team’s trainers, physiotherapists, and medical staff for the worsening of his back problem.
The board president initially didn’t want to say anything on the matter. But he later said, “I don’t want to comment on the matter. Because I don’t know why, in what situation he said those things. Is he trying to say that the people who are helping him train are trying to harm him? I don’t know what his objective was behind saying something like this. For two years, whatever he has asked for we have provided it. Whenever he wanted to go overseas for treatment, we have sent him. We never heard before that there was an issue.”
The BCB president also said that the board will do anything to help Tamim regain fitness, “Now he said that he had gone to a physician who told him that he either has to take an injection or have a surgery. Whatever is needed, we will do it. There is no doubt about that.”
Mahmudullah’s name also came up in the press conference. Will the all-rounder return to the ODI team? Nazmul bypassed the question, “It’s really difficult for me to say. I can’t say anything about it right now. It’s tough for me to say anything about him before talking to the selectors.”
“If he had played in the series (against Afghanistan), I could’ve confidently spoken about him. As he didn’t play, I have no thoughts on whether he will return to the team or not. I can’t just say, ‘Yes, he will play’ without seeing him play at first.”
