The 34-year-old Tamim Iqbal, who was all ready to board the flight for India to play in the 2023 World Cup, was upset with the board’s decision to exclude him from the squad. Tamim called this decision by the Bangladesh Cricket Board a ‘dirty game’.
“Someone called me from the top level of the board who is very involved with our cricket. He said that if you go to the World Cup, you have to play the matches while managing your back injury. So, you better do one thing: don’t play the opening match against Afghanistan,” Tamim said in a video posted on his official Facebook account.
Tamim also mentioned that the board member wanted him to play on the down order and was disheartened to hear this. He also said that it was a shock for him and that he had never seen anything like this in his 17-year career. He was upset that he was forced not to open.
“After hearing this, I am shocked, as I have never in my 17-year career batted down the order. I feel like I’m being forced to do many things. I said, ‘Look, if you have such thoughts, then don’t send them to me. I don’t want to be in this mess. I don’t want to be part of this dirty game. You make me face something new every day. I don’t want to stay here”, Tamim described in the video.
However, the local media in Bangladesh stated that Tamim told the BCB that he would only play five games considering his back injury, which the management disapproved, saying they don’t want a player who is half fit for the big-stage tournament. Although Tamim denied this report from the media.
“The medical department believed that if I rested and played the second warm-up match (against England) on October 2, I would get enough time to prepare ahead of the first World Cup match”, Tamim added.
Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in their opening game of the 2023 World Cup on October 7.