Bangladesh cricket team’s all-time great all-rounder, Shakib al Hasan threatened its country’s cricket board to step down as captain before the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. It came after the selectors and the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) wanted to include the veteran opener, Tamim Iqbal in the squad. Tamim has been facing back issues over the last few months, and Shakib al Hasan didn’t want a half-fit player in his team. This is not the first time that there have been some tensions between the two Bangladesh’s greats.
Shakib Al Hasan has been appointed as Bangladesh’s captain
After Tamim announced his retirement with immediate effect, Shakib al Hasan was appointed as the Bangladesh cricket team’s captain for the Asia Cup 2023 and the all-important ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Although Tamim Iqbal reversed his decision after a talk with the country’s president, he stepped down as the captain of the team.
Shakib al Hasan has already LED Bangladesh in 19 Tests, 39 T20Is, and 57 ODIs.
Tamim facing back issues for a while now
The left-hander has missed the cricketing action for a few months due to his back injury. He came back to play in the home ODI series against New Zealand. But he again complained about his injury concerns.
Tamim scored 44 in the 2nd ODI but had to sit out in the 3rd one due to injury. He also informed the selectors to keep his injury in mind before picking up the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 squad.
Shakib didn’t want Tamim in the team
As per reports, Shakib al Hasan told the BCB about Tamim’s inclusion in the team. He didn’t want the left-handed opener in the team because of his injury. According to the reports, Shakib al Hasan didn’t want a half-fit player in the team. Along with the Bangladesh coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, Shakib al Hasan met BCB’s president Nazmul Hussain Papon at his residence and talked about this matter in detail.
Also, Shakib was not happy with team management’s decision to take Tamim to the team.
Threatened to relinquish the captaincy
Shakib al Hasan also conveyed to the board and the selector that he would not lead the team in the WC if Tamim made the cut in the squad.
Is Shakib right or wrong?
Shakib’s point of picking a half-fit player is not a bad one. You can’t take a risk on a half-fit player in a big event like WC. Whatever, this matter will only hinder the team’s preparation and the environment.
Tamim is not in the squad
Eventually, Tamim Iqbal didn’t make it to the WC squad. The selectors have decided to leave him out of the WC squad.
BCB’s chief selector Minhajul Abedin explained the exclusion of Tamim. He said we can’t take risks with the injured players.
Abedin on Tamim
Although Abedin said Tamim is one of the important members of the team, his injury restricted his ability. He also said the decision was taken after talking to all the concerns including Tamim. Abedin didn’t talk about what had been discussed. But he said the decision was also taken after considering the medical team’s advice.
Bangladesh’s squad for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 squad:-
Shakib al Hasan (c), Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, M Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan
Tamim also breaks out on this matter
After all of this drama, Tamim Iqbal has also come out and said this. He said a top-level official, who is involved with Bangladesh’s cricket called him and told him that they will play him in the WC by managing his injury.
According to Tamim’s words, that official advised him not to play the first game against Afghanistan. He said the team is planning to send him down the order. Tamim didn’t hold himself after all of these strange words and said – “I don’t want to be a part of this dirty game.”
Bangladesh hasn’t done well in the Asia Cup 2023
Bangladesh are going into this WC with some wins under their belt. In fact, they only managed to win two games in the 5 games played by them in the Asia Cup 2023. And that too when in one of the games, India didn’t go with their full-strength team.
They also lost a series against Bangladesh at home. So they will have to look into this and try to regroup as soon as possible.
Conclusion
This kind of thing will only shatter the team’s confidence. The team has to forget all of this and try to concentrate on the job at hand.
Shakib al Hasan and the Bangladesh cricket team are looking for their first-ever ICC title. They haven’t won any ICC WC yet.
Let’s see how they do in the ICC ODI WC 2023 in India. What are your predictions? How will Bangladesh do in the WC 2023?
