Following a discussion with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Friday afternoon, Bangladeshi batter Tamim Iqbal decided to reverse his decision to retire from international cricket only one day after declaring his intention to do so.
After having a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Gono Bhaban, the batsman informed to media that he would be back to playing international cricket. On Thursday, the player made the shocking announcement that he was retiring from all forms of international cricket.
During the meeting, Tamim was joined by the current president of the BCB, Nazmul Hassan Papon, as well as the former captain, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.
“I can decline everyone else, but not the Prime Minister,” Tamim stated. “Mashrafe Bhai was the one who brought me to the meeting, and Papon Bhai was also there with me at the same time,”
Papon said that he was confident in his ability to convince Tamim to change his mind once the two of them met face to face.
“Since I am quite close to all of them [the Bangladesh players], I had a suspicion that maybe he made a choice that was influenced by his emotions. “I had a belief that if I could meet with him, then we could come to a solution,” Papon said. “I had the opportunity to meet with him.”
However, Tamim will not be participating in the remaining two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in the Afghanistan series that is now being played in Chattogram. According to the information provided by Papon, the opener will take a vacation of around one and a half months to participate in rehabilitation in order to regain his fitness.
“Through the honorable Prime Minister, everyone of us got a chance to speak with Tamim. Because of what he said in front of you [the media], he will be revoking the letter that announces his retirement. Therefore, he is not now retired. On the other hand, given that he is not both mentally and physically fit to the fullest extent, he requested a hiatus of one and a half months. Papon went on to say that he has high hopes that during this period, he would participate in rehabilitation and then return to cricket after recovering his full health.