Tamim Iqbal Opens Up About Fallout With Bangladesh Team That Led To His Early Retirement From Cricket

Tamim Iqbal opens up on his fallout with Bangladesh cricket team, which contributed to his decision to take early retirement from cricket, despite his desire to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Bangladesh cricketer Tamim Iqbal opened up on his fallout with people within the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) which resulted in him taking an early retirement from cricket. Now a commentator, Iqbal was reportedly involved in a rift with star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in 2023, after which, he was surprisingly excluded from Bangladesh’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad.

The veteran batter announced his retirement from international cricket in July, 2023, but he reversed his decision just a day later.

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Talking to Sportstar, Tamim Iqbal expressed that his goal was to play for Bangladesh in the 2025 Champions Trophy but ‘differences with people’ led him to step away.

‘I never thought I wouldn’t be playing for Bangladesh. At the time, my goal was to play in the Champions Trophy and then make a decision about my career. But then, a lot of unexpected things happened, and they weren’t pleasant either. You can have bad relationships or differences with people, but when it comes to the national interest, everyone should come together. There should be no room for vindictiveness. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case,” Iqbal said.

“I’m a very emotional person, and what happened to me during that period wasn’t easy to handle, which led me to step away,” he added.

'More Than One Person Was Involved' Says Iqbal

Tamim Iqbal reflected on his 17 years with the Bangladesh team, stating that he had never encountered experiences like those leading to his retirement announcement. He mentioned that multiple people were involved in the situation, but he refrained from naming them for various reasons. 

“I’ve played for Bangladesh for 17 years, but I had never witnessed anything like what I saw during that time. It was this experience that ultimately pushed me to announce my retirement. 

A lot of things happened. More than one person was involved, and they all played their roles very cleverly. However, I can’t name them for obvious reasons. To this day, I haven’t blamed anyone, and I never will. They know what they did to me, and I know what they did, so let’s leave it at that. I believe in karma and don’t wish ill on anyone, because one day, it might come back to haunt me,” Tamim Iqbal said.