Tamim Iqbal, a former captain of Bangladesh’s cricket team, has made startling admissions over his exclusion from the World Cup roster. The seasoned cricketer provided more details about the events that influenced his choice to withdraw from the tournament in a video statement.
Tamim Iqbal revealed that he had an open discussion with a senior representative of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The official allegedly told him that, subject to meeting certain physical requirements, he would be a member of the World Cup squad. This entailed not playing in the first game against Afghanistan and potentially being batting last.
On his official Facebook page, Tamim Iqbal expressed his displeasure with the adjustments being considered, stating, “A top-level official of the board who is involved with our cricket called me and told me that you will go to World Cup and we have to make you play by managing [your fitness],”
“He said, ‘Do one thing, you don’t play the first game against Afghanistan. I responded, “Look, there are still 10 to 12 days before I’ll be in good shape, so why shouldn’t I be playing?” Then he said, “We plan to send you down the order if you play.”
“You need to comprehend the mindset from which I’m approaching this. After a time, I played well (against New Zealand), and I was pleased with it. But all of a sudden, I could no longer tolerate these types of remarks,” he remarked.
“I have been playing in the same position for the past 17 years, and I have never batted at the three or four positions. It may be amended if I was batting at three or four when my position was later moved up and down. However, I have no prior hitting experience at positions three and four. I definitely didn’t handle it well. I had the impression that I was being driven into several situations, as if things were going well so why not try something different [to annoy him]? I had that impression.
Tamim Iqbal made a forceful remark, saying he didn’t want to participate in what he called BCB’s “dirty game” as a result of the abrupt change. It was clear that he was upset by it. He made clear that he didn’t want to be forced into anything that went against his long-established tastes and playing style.
“At that point, I told you not to email me if you were thinking along these lines since I didn’t want to play along with this sleazy game. Later, I chatted with him extensively, but I don’t want to reveal it on this platform. I want it to stay private between the two of us. Even so, I advised him not to keep me if these things happen since I don’t want to take part in these unethical activities.
Tamim Iqbal claims that although the physiologist’s report highlighted his sporadic pain, it did not place any limitations on his ability to participate in the competition.
The physio report stated that my condition was as follows: “He is available for selection for the game on the 26th but the medical department felt if I take rest we travel on the 27th… There was pain after the first game and there was discomfort after the second game. If I play in the second practice game, we have a game on 28 [29] and another one on the first or second. I’ll have enough rest if I take a break now and play the second practice game, and I’ll have a 10-week rehab period, so I’ll be ready to play the first game,” he stated.
“Nowhere in the physio report was it stated that I would be available for five games or that I couldn’t play, or anything similar. I won’t dispute that I felt pain, and this is essentially what happened. I believe the upcoming media coverage of my ailment or the fact that I have five matches left to play… Although there may be pain, I wasn’t wounded until today, so I don’t believe that played a significant role in my decision to skip the World Cup, Tamim Iqbal continued.
India
