Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal confirmed his retirement from international cricket through a social media post on Friday.
Tamim’s announcement came after the Bangladesh selection panel asked him to be available for the upcoming Champions Trophy.
“I have been away from international cricket for a long time. That distance will be maintained. My chapter in international cricket is over. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Now, with a big event like the Champions Trophy coming up, we don’t want the team to lose focus due to someone else’s attention. Of course, I didn’t want this to happen before,” Tamim wrote on his official Facebook page.
“Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto sincerely requested me to return to the team. There was also discussion with the selection committee. I’m still grateful to them for considering me on the team. But I listened to my heart,” he added.
Tamim made his international debut in an ODI match against Zimbabwe in Harare in February 2007. He soon distinguished himself across formats and established himself as one of the most reliable batsmen in the Bangladesh team.
The left-handed batsman is Bangladesh’s second highest run-scorer in international cricket after Mushfiqur Rahim. Tamim also has the most international hundreds among Bangladesh batsmen across all formats.
Tamim Iqbal in international cricket
| matches | execution | average | 100 seconds | high score | |
| test | 70 | 5134 | 38.89 | 10 | 206 |
| O.D.I. | 243 | 8357 | 36.65 | 14 | 158 |
| T20Is | 78 | 1758 | 8.24 | 1 | 103* |
