Tamim & Mashrafe with Bangladesh's PM (x.com)
The controversy surrounding Tamim Iqbal’s participation in the upcoming ODI World Cup does not seem to die down. The veteran top-order batter was axed from the Bangladesh squad ahead of the high-octane World Cup tournament following a potential disagreement between him and the skipper Shakib.
In the wake of this unprecedented controversy, former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza launched a scathing attack on the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for mishandling this situation. The Bangladeshi legend opined that the matter could have been addressed more sensibly had Shakib approached Tamim personally.
Mortaza took to his official Facebook account and expressed his growing discontent over BCB’s mishandling of this situation.
“As the captain, Shakib could have messaged Tamim or spoken for a minute, saying, 'I have this plan, I'll discuss it with you later.' I think that would have resolved the entire issue here."
The 39-year-old was of the opinion that Tamim’s decision to withdraw from captaincy duties was perhaps not the right call. Prior to the squad announcement, Tamim was reportedly asked to bat down the order in spite of him being an opener. However, Iqbal was reluctant to do so and in return was severely criticized by the skipper Shakib.
"Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener, scored 10,000-plus runs. If he sometimes bats at No 3 or 4, would it be a big problem? It is totally childish. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first."
Amidst brewing tensions, Tamim did make a comeback during the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand. However, after batting in the second ODI, he admitted that he was still feeling pain in his back. Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi Cricket Team has landed in India and are gearing up to play their maiden warm-up fixture against Sri Lanka before heading into the World Cup.
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