Shakib Al Hasan (L), Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah & Tamim Iqbal (X.com)
As rumors swirled regarding Tamim Iqbal's exclusion from Bangladesh's ODI World Cup squad, former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza did not hesitate to stand by his old colleague’s side.
The paceman, who became the fifth bowler to take 100 ODI wickets as the skipper, remarked that Tamim is not receiving "the minimum respect" he deserves.
Tamim has been the subject of numerous rumors, with many claiming that the southpaw, who is unquestionably the best batsman in their nation's history, wanted to play five matches at the showpiece event despite only being partially fit.
Tamim deserves at least that, according to Mashrafe, who advised everyone to listen to what he had to say.
“Everyone may provide one piece of wrong information. Tamim dropped; actually, the truth is, Tamim did not want to stay in the team. There is a huge difference between keeping someone out of the team and opting not to be in the team. I think Tamim deserves this minimum respect,” Mashrafe Mortaza said, as quoted by thedailystar.net.
Additionally, Mortaza advised Bangladesh's ardent supporters not to be too harsh on Tamim without knowing the truth.
"Now there would be the question as to why Tamim was not interested to be in the team. Actually, I have no answer to this question. Only Tamim can say this. Maybe he will say it someday, then we can understand," Mortaza concluded.
Bangladesh will be led by Shakib Al Hasan, with Mahmudullah making a surprise return to the squad. There have also been numerous reports claiming that Shakib and Tamim are having a rift and have not talked to each other for over two years.
Bangladesh Squad for ODI World Cup 2023
Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Mahmudullah
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