Tamim Iqbal Retires From International Cricket Ahead Of Champions Trophy 2025
Bangladesh's left-handed batter, Tamim Iqbal, announced his retirement on Friday from international cricket. He played a total of 387 matches for Bangladesh across all formats, scoring 15,192 runs in his career. He decided to call off his career before the Champions Trophy and is the second-highest run scorer for the team in international cricket after Mushfiqur Rahim. Before this, he also announced his retirement in July 2023 but changed his own decision.
Iqbal announced the decision of retirement through Facebook, stating that
"I have been away from international cricket for a long time. That distance will remain. My chapter in international cricket is over. I have been thinking about this for a long time."
It seems like this time he has made up his mind to end his international career before the Champions Trophy. Iqbal said that he does not want to be the focus of attention.
"Now that a big event like the Champions Trophy is coming up, I do not want to be the focus of anyone's attention, which could lead to the team losing their focus. Of course, I did not want this to happen before too."
"Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto asked me to return" - Tamim Iqbal
The 35-year-old also stated that captain Najmul Hossain Shanto asked him to return to the team. He feels grateful to them for still considering him in the team, but he chose to listen to his heart.
"Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto sincerely asked me to return to the team. There were discussions with the selection committee too. I am grateful to them for still considering me in the team. However, I have listened to my own heart."
Iqbal played his last international match for Bangladesh against New Zealand in September 2023. He played 70 Test matches, scoring 5,134 runs at an average of 38.89; 243 matches in ODIs, scoring 8,000 runs at an average of 36.65; and 78 T20Is, scoring 1,758 runs at an average of 24.08.