After almost 24 hours of speculation and rumorus, it was finally revealed yesterday night that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) did not include seasoned campaigner Tamim Iqbal among the 15 selected to represent the country in the 13th edition of the World Cup, which will be played in India from October 5 to November 19. This news came after the dust settled yesterday night after almost 24 hours of speculation and rumorus.
Even though everyone in the country and all of the fans were taken aback by the news, the national selectors had a very reasonable explanation for why they chose not to include Tamim.
“There are certain injuries with which you simply cannot take any chances. This is of the utmost significance. If we take someone and then that player has an injury after competing in the World Cup, then the team management will be in a difficult position. Therefore, there is a possibility of harm.
The head selector, Minhajul Abedin Nannu, spoke to the media in Mirpur last night and explained that the decision to cut Tamim from the World Cup team was made after taking all of these factors into consideration. However, he emphasized that Tamim’s ongoing back issue was the primary factor in the decision.
Tamim was scheduled to play in his fifth One-Day International World Cup. He had represented his country in every edition of the major event since he wowed everyone in his debut tournament, which took place in the West Indies in 2007.
The fact that the best opener in the country wasn’t allowed to compete in one of the most important cricket tournaments brought up a lot of interesting issues, especially considering the number of rumors that were going around in both traditional and social media.
One of these rumors was that skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who will lead the Tigers in the World Cup for the second time after having done so in 2011, was hesitant to captain the side if Tamim was included. Al Hasan captained the Tigers in 2011 and will do so again in 2015.
“We were never provided with any information of the sort. We heard numerous things through the media, but nothing of that nature was communicated to us,” Minhajul continued.
Another rumor indicated that Tamim had notified the board that he would only be able to play five of the mandatory nine games that the Tigers are planned to play in the major tournament in India. This event is scheduled to take place in India. In response to this question, Minhajul responded, “No. Let me make this perfectly clear to everyone: we were never given any information suggesting that Tamim will only play five games or anything similar to that.
When it came time to choose the team, the top selector emphasized more than once the importance of according to the established protocol.
“The squad is put together following consultation with the team’s medical staff, team management, players, the captain, and the head coach as well. In this player’s case, we followed the standard operating method that we do for all other players.
You also need to keep in mind that Tamim was unable to participate in the final game, which was played against New Zealand. He participated in the first and second games, but in the last ODI, we were required to give him some time off. Minhajul stated that after he fielded and batted in the second game, he experienced some discomfort in his back. “He felt a bit of pain,”
Before any major event, it is normal for the selectors to make an announcement about the squad and then field questions from the media about it. However, given what had transpired since Monday night, the selectors were arguably not the best individuals to face the media yesterday.
Tamim’s exclusion, despite all of the justifications offered by the BCB, leaves a scope for many more questions, despite the fact that the events that occurred in the cricketing community of the country yesterday were consistent with how things generally happen virtually immediately before every major tournament.
Tamim, a 34-year-old left-handed hitter, stated to The Daily Star yesterday that he would offer his own comment regarding the event. Perhaps some of the questions that have been asked by curious cricket fans and media personnel will be answered when Tamim speaks up, as he will hopefully provide answers to some of those queries.