In what comes as a big blow for Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal will miss the Asia Cup 2023 with a back injury. The Bangladeshi ODI captain has also relinquished captaincy officially with Litton Das set to take over as the full-time captain, leading up to World Cup 2023.
Tamim Iqbal asked for a leave and missed the Afghanistan series to recover from the back injury. However, as things stand, he won’t be able to recover in time. It also puts a question mark on whether World Cup 2023 as well.
“I will step down as captain and concentrate as a player and try to give my best whenever the opportunity comes,” Tamim Iqbal told media on Thursday in the presence of BCB President Nazmul Hassan.
With an eye on Asia Cup 2023, Tamim took injections to be fit. However, the treatment did not work out. He still wanted to play in the Asia Cup. But BCB medical team advised against it.
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It comes a month after Tamim announced his shock international retirement. Bangladesh PM Shaikh Hasina had to step in to resolve the differences with the BCB. The Bangladesh captain said that he had spoken to Hasina regarding this.
“Stepping down would be the best possible thing. I talked to the PM today and I gave her the message as well. She made me understand everything really nicely. Main thing is, for the betterment of the team, I should step down as captain and try to give my best as a player whenever the opportunity comes,” Tamim added further.
Now, the plan is to play the series against New Zealand after the Asia Cup. With World Cup starting in October, it will be his only chance to get some match practice ahead of the mega event in India.
Asia Cup 2023 Schedule for Bangladesh (Group Stage):
- Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka – 31st August
- Bangladesh vs Afghanistan – 3rd September
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