Tamim Iqbal retires three months before World Cup

 Tamim Iqbal retires three months before World Cup

Bangladesh ODI captain makes surprise announcement a day after losing to Afghanistan in Chattogram

Tamim Iqbal

In a shock development, Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh's ODI captain, has retired from international cricket three months before the World Cup begins in India, bringing a sudden end to a 16-year international career.

Surrounded by a throng of reporters, Tamim was extremely emotional and in tears as he made the announcement at a press conference he arranged in Chattogram on Thursday, a day after Bangladesh lost to Afghanistan in the first of 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. "Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game. It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about the different reasons. I don't want to mention here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this is the right time for me to retire from international cricket.

"I need to thank a few people, which they deserve. (Pauses, and takes a deep breath). I have always said that I played cricket (long pause, deep breath) to fulfil my father's dream. So I am not sure how much I have made him proud throughout these 16 years of my international career.

"There are a lot of other people that I need to thank. My youngest chacha (uncle), his name is Akbar Khan. I held his hands to go to my first cricket tournament. I thank him and his family. I thank Tapan da, a coach in MA Aziz Stadium, (long pause, sobbing), who was my coach in my childhood. I thank all the players I played with from the U-13, U-15, U-17, U-19s, A team, Premier League, NCL and national team. Especially my national-team colleagues. The cricket board gave me the opportunity to represent the country for so long. I have captained Bangladesh too. I thank them as well.

"I don't have much to say. One thing I will definitely say is, I tried my best (sobbing). I did try my best. Maybe I was not good enough or good enough. I don't know. But I tried my 100% whenever I was in the field.