Highlights:
- Tamim Iqbal abruptly ends his 16-year career.
- During his retirement announcement, the departing Bangladesh cricketer broke down in tears.
- The Bangladesh Cricket Board has not yet announced Tamim’s ODI replacement.
Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh ODI captain, abruptly ended his magnificent 16-year career by announcing his retirement from international cricket on Thursday. Just three months before the World Cup in India, Tamim made the shocking announcement during an emotional press conference in Chattogram.
Tamim spoke to the gathered reporters while his face was covered in tears. He said, “This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket from this moment.”
Tamim extended his gratitude to his teammates, coaches, BCB officials, family members, and everyone else who helped him along the way. Additionally, he thanked all of his fans for their constant support and faith in him.
Shakib Al Hasan currently captains the team in the T20I format, while Litton Das is in charge of the team’s Test matches. As of at this point the Bangladesh Cricket Board has not appointed a replacement for Al Hasan as the country’s ODI captain. Tamim played his final Test match against Ireland in April after having retired from T20Is last year.
When Tamim made his ODI debut as a teen in 2007, his international career officially got underway. His match-winning fifty against India in the West Indies helped Bangladesh win the 2007 World Cup.
With 8313 runs and 14 centuries, he finishes his ODI career as Bangladesh’s top ODI run-scorer, moving him into third place among the current players behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Tamim is Bangladesh’s second-highest scorer in Test cricket, having scored 5134 runs at an average of 38.89 and 10 hundreds in 70 matches. With 21 victories out of 37 games, he has a slightly higher win rate as the ODI the captain than the renowned Mashrafe Mortaza.
Bangladesh finished third in the ODI Super League under his leadership, securing direct qualification for the next World Cup in India. In a Test match against New Zealand in 2017, Tamim also served as team captain.
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