Tamim Iqbal finally ended his international career by putting an end to all the talks about his return to the national team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Bangladesh cricket legend also revealed that the BCB and Najmul Shanto requested him to return but he didn’t want to disrupt the current team.
The 35-year-old opening batter previously retired from international cricket in June 2023 and last played an international game in September 2023. He was famously snubbed from Bangladesh’s squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 and then struggled to make a comeback to the national side.
Ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy 2025, the talks of Tamim’s return to Bangladesh’s ODI squad emerged after the team’s poor performances across formats in 2024. Tamin, who made his international debut in 2007, revealed that he was thinking about retiring for a long time after his ‘shock’ snub from the 2023 World Cup.
“I have been away from international cricket for a long time. That distance will never punch again. End of my chapter in international cricket, ” Tamim Iqbal wrote. “Been thinking about this for a long time. Now that there is a big seat ahead like the Champions Trophy, I don’t want me to be discussed again and the team’s attention disrupted.
“Definitely never wanted this before. I removed myself from the BCB central agreement long ago because I didn’t want it. Although many said, it’s been in the media many times, I’m the one hanging the matter. But there is nothing to plan or discuss about the BCB who is not in any agreement, who has stood away more than a year ago. Even after that, there was unnecessary discussion. The decision to retire or continue playing is the own right of a cricketer or any professional athlete. I gave myself time. Now I feel like the time has come.
Tamim also revealed that he was approached by the selection committee and captain Najmul Shanto to return and thanked them for making him ‘worthy’.
“Captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto sincerely asked me to return. Discussion with the election committee also,” Tamim added. “Gratitude to them for still making me feel worthy. But I heard my mind. What happened before the 2023 World Cup, was a big shock for me, as I did not go out of the team due to cricket.
“Everywhere I go, many cricket fans said they want to see me again in the national team. I thought of their love. I also have a fan in my room. My son never told me straight, but repeatedly told his mom, wants to see Dad play in country jersey again. I’m sorry for disappointing fans. Telling my son, ‘The day you grow up, you will understand your father.”
The former captain represented Bangladesh in 387 international matches and went on to score 15192 runs, a record Mushfiqur Rahim broke recently. He remains the country’s leading run-getter in ODI cricket with 8357 runs in 240 matches and also holds the record 25 international centuries for Bangladesh.
