Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal announced his retirement from international cricket on Thursday (July 6), months before the start of the ODI World Cup in India later this year. His decision brought an abrupt end to a career that spanned 16 years in world cricket. Tamim was in tears when he made the announcement at a press conference in Chattogram on Thursday, a day after Bangladesh had succumbed to a defeat against Afghanistan in the first of the three ODIs.
"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 said.
"I want to thank all my team-mates, coaches, BCB officials, my family members, and those who have been with me through my long journey. They kept faith in me," he added.
"I also want to thank the fans. Your love and faith in me inspired me to give my very best for Bangladesh. I want to ask for your prayers for the next chapter of my life. Please keep me in your prayers," he further said.
It would be interesting to see who succeeds Tamim as the captain the 50-over format with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yet to make an official announcement. Notably, while star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan leads the side in the T20 format, Litton Das is the captain of the Bangladesh Test team.
While Tamim had already announced his retirement from T20Is last year. He last featured in a Test match against Ireland in April earlier this year. The left-handed batter will becounted as one of the finest ever that the country has produced. The 34-year-old has played 70 Tests, 241 ODIs and 78 T20Is, scoring 5134, 8313 and 1758 runs in them respectively. It was ODIs that he blossomed the most and finishes the format as the country's leading run-getter and century maker (14).
He was also the third highest run-getter in ODIs in the world among the current crop of players with only Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of him.