Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal suddenly announced retirement

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has announced his retirement from international cricket. The decision comes just a day after the Bangla Tigers suffered an unexpected loss to Afghanistan in a rain-curtailed encounter.

With the ODI World Cup just three months away, Bangladesh would now have to look for a new captain. Tamim was extremely emotional as he announced his retirement in a press conference. The 34-year-old Bangladesh star organised a press conference to confirm his decision.

Earlier, Tamim had retired from T20Is around the same time in 2022. His last Test came against Ireland in April earlier this year. The Bangladesh opener was too overwhelmed with emotions as he made the announcement on Thursday.

While he didn’t delve into the details over the reasons behind his retirement, Tamim reiterated that he “tried his best” before breaking into tears. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is yet to announce the name of Tamim’s successor in 50-over format. Chances are high that one of Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das gets the job.

Shakib is already leading the Bangladesh team in the T20I format, while Litton is the Test captain. Tamim had confirmed his retirement from T20Is around the same time last year. He had played his last Test for the country against Ireland in April.

Tamim ODI debut in February 2007 has scored the most number of runs for the team (8313) as well as hundreds (14) in the ODI format. Among active cricketers, he is the third-highest run-scorer, only behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in one-day cricket.

In the Test format, Tamim ended his career with over 5000 runs to his name, together with 10 hundreds and 31 half-centuries. In the T20I format, he scored 1758 runs, with the help of one century and 7 fifties.

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