Tamim Iqbal said, “This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have always tried to do better. At this point, I am retiring from international cricket. Yesterday’s match against Afghanistan was my last match. It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking of different reasons beforehand. I don’t want to mention them here. I have spoken to my family about it as well. I thought of retiring from international cricket. This is the right time.”
He further said, “I want to say thank you to some people, which they deserve. I have always said that I played cricket to fulfil my father’s dreams. Although I am not sure that in my international career of 16 years How proud I have made them.”
“There are many people I want to thank. My younger uncle, his name is Akbar Khan. I reached out to him holding his hand to play my first cricket tournament. I want to thank him and his family. I am MA Aziz Want to thank the coach Tapan Da in the stadium, he was the first coach of my childhood.I played in U-13, U-15, U-17, U-19, A team, premier league, NCL and national team all mates I want to thank the players, especially my national teammates. The cricket board has given me the opportunity to represent the country for a long time, I also captained Bangladesh. I would want to thank them as well.”
“I don’t have much to say. One thing I must say is that I gave my best. Maybe I have not been good enough, I don’t know. But every time I stepped on the field, I gave my 100. Gave the percentage.”
“There are many more things I want to express, but as you can see, I am unable to do so. But I hope you guys will respect that. It is not easy to speak in this condition. It is not easy to leave international cricket. Hope you understand. I apologize for notifying you so quickly. I’d like to thank everyone in the media.”
“I also want to thank my fans. Your love and faith have always motivated me to do good for Bangladesh. I seek your blessings for the next phase of my life. Please keep me in your prayers.”
“Please forgive me if I missed to thank anybody. But I would like to thank all those who have helped me become a cricketer and a better person. My mother, my brother, my wife and my two children, all Has endured a lot in this journey of mine. I thank them too. I have nothing more to say.”
Read Also – Who are the four new faces in the Indian women’s squad for the Bangladesh series?
“Please end my topic here. This is the end. At least in international cricket. Let’s not talk much about it, why, what, it could have happened elsewhere. Full stop to all this. I have always said that the team is bigger than any individual, so let’s focus on the team. The series has two more matches to go. I think we should win it.”
Tamim retired from T20 last year at the age of 34. He last played a Test in April, against Ireland.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board has not yet told who will be the captain in his place. Shakib Al Hasan represents the T20 team, while Liton Das is the Test captain.
Tamim made his international debut in ODIs in February 2007 and scored a memorable match-winning half-century in the World Cup against India in the West Indies. He concluded his career with the most ODI runs (8313) and hundreds (14) for his country, as well as the third-highest run-scorer among active cricketers, trailing only Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
In Tests, Tamim scored 5134 runs in 70 matches at an average of 38.89, including ten centuries, and was the second-highest run-scorer for his country in Tests.
As ODI captain, Tamim’s winning percentage has increased marginally over Mashrafe Mortaza. Tamim won 21 out of 37 ODIs and helped Bangladesh finish third in the ODI Super League and secure direct qualification for the World Cup. He also captained Bangladesh in a Test against New Zealand in 2017.
