Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal announces T20I retirement – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Bangladesh opening batter Tamim Iqbal has announced his retirement from T20I Cricket after the ODI series against West Indies.

Tamim, shortly after the third ODI that Bangladesh won by four wickets, wrote a message on his Facebook page in Bangla, “Consider me retired from T20 internationals from today. Thanks, everyone.”

There were speculations about Tamim’s retirement from T20Is as he had availed a break from the shortest format in January 2022.

He had announced a six-month break back then. “My full focus will be on Tests and ODIs. We are preparing for the World Test Championship and qualification for the 2023 World Cup. I will not be thinking about T20Is in the next six months. I hope that those playing will do so well, that the team won’t need me in T20Is. But if God forbid the team or cricket board needs me, and I am ready, I will possibly think about it,” Tamim had said while announcing the break at a media interaction.

Tamim also pulled out voluntarily from the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE, giving other openers an extended run. He had hinted that playing all three formats was not wise for him at this stage of his career.

Tamim last played a T20I against Zimbabwe in March 2020 and returned with 41 runs of 33 deliveries. Tamim played 75 out of the 84 games Bangladesh played during his tenure and is the third highest run-getter for his country in the format with 1,701 runs at an average of 24.65 and a strike rate of 117.47. Tamim also remains the only T20I centurion for Bangladesh to date. He also has seven half-centuries to his name.

The southpaw is expected to continue playing domestic/ franchise T20 cricket. He is also the all-time leading run scorer in the BPL.

Under Tamim’s leadership, Bangladesh defeated West Indies 3-0 in the ODI series. They have won five consecutive ODI series now under his leadership.

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