When Tamim Iqbal made the shocking announcement that he was retiring from international cricket on Thursday during an emotionally charged news conference, there was almost little room for question that the decision was driven by what was being said about him in the media and how he was being handled by the high-ups in cricket.
It is never easy for an athlete to say goodbye to the game that they play with a lot of love and commitment, and for someone like Tamim, who has made the country proud with his remarkable achievements over the course of approximately the previous 16 years, it is safe to assume that it must have been quite hard for him to do so.
Tamim made sure he kept his dignity and did not sling mud at anyone, instead thanking everyone for the support he has had over the years. His grief was clear from the fact that he broke down in tears several times during the press conference.
On the other hand, BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon has once again made a series of awkward comments regarding Tamim in an interview with a national daily, referring to the entire situation as a ‘drama.’
“I am fed up. “I can’t take any more of this drama, whatever is going on,” Papon added. “I can’t take it.”
When Papon was questioned whether or not he had witnessed Tamim’s emotional declaration, he responded, “I don’t understand why he sobbed. Since he did it on his own initiative and nobody told him to step down, there was no reason for him to lament over it. And where can we find him now that he has vanished? It’s possible that he believed we may try to prevent him from doing it, but he’s already gone ahead and done it, so why has he turned off his phone now?
It is possible that there are numerous reasons for Tamim’s unexpected retirement, but one of the primary reasons is considered to be Papon’s words regarding him prior to the first one-day international match against Afghanistan.
The head of the BCB had criticized Tamim and questioned his choice to say in front of the media that he wasn’t totally fit despite having passed the fitness test for the match.
Papon also stated, once again, in an interview that he gave to The Daily Star the previous night, that should similar circumstances arise in the future, he would respond in the same manner and say the same things.
“I will bring it to everyone’s attention whenever it occurs. He was successful in the physical fitness exam. Why, therefore, would he admit in front of the media that he was not in his best physical condition? If he was not physically capable of playing, then it is unclear how he was given the go-ahead to do so. If he had a difficulty with this, he ought to have gone to the physiotherapist or come to us for assistance.
What was he trying to accomplish by revealing this information to the media? In international cricket, the way you described things doesn’t work. This is something that we have never accepted and it is not something that we would ever do again, he added.
When the circumstances called for some sensibility, Papon did the exact opposite, making insensitive statements and demeaning a cricketer like Tamim in front of the media. This is something that Papon has done pretty frequently over the years, so it is not surprising that he did it now.