Tamim Iqbal takes U-turn, withdraws retirement from international cricket

Dhaka : Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal has decided to take back his decision of taking retirement from International cricket on Friday.

Tamim's change of decision came following an intervention by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Their meeting took place on Friday afternoon at her residence in Dhaka. Tamim, along with his wife, met Hasina alongside former captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan, according to ESPNcricinfo. Tamim shared a post on Instagram sharing a picture with Hasina and he wrote, "Can't say no to the Honourable Prime Minister"

He announced his retirement from International cricket on Thursday before the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2023 which is slated to begin on October 5 in India. His announcement shook the Bangladesh cricket fans as he brought an end to his 16-year-old international career.

His international retirement began with immediate effect after he made the announcement at a press conference in Chattogram, a day after Bangladesh's loss to Afghanistan in the first ODI of the three-match series. In the interim, the BCB had earlier appointed Litton Das as captain for the second and third ODIs against Afghanistan.

Tamim was quite emotional as he addressed the media and said as quoted by ICC, "This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket at this moment."

But Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wasn't going to easily let their star player hang his boot before the major tournament. Earlier on Friday, BCB president Nazmul Hassan insisted Tamim reconsider his retirement from international cricket as the management was expecting Tamim to captain the upcoming ODI World Cup side.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Hassan said, "I told his brother Nafees that he should at least captain the side in this series [against Afghanistan]."

After his stay was extended, Tamim will be keen to improve on his current statistics. Iqbal made his international debut in 2007 and has represented Bangladesh in 70 Tests, 241 ODIs and 78 T20Is. The prolific left-handed opener has over 15,000 runs in international cricket, with 25 centuries and 94 half-centuries. Iqbal had already retired from T20I cricket last year and played his last Test against Ireland in April. (ANI)