Shakib Al Hasan Says He Doesn't Care About Tamim Iqbal

2 of Bangladesh’s best cricketers of all time, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal were involved in a heated rift before the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 back in October, and in the latest interview, Shakib mentioned that he had no interest in settling indifferences with Tamim and that he doesn’t care about the matter anymore.

Before the World Cup in India had begun, Shakib Al Hasan who captained Bangladesh during the tournament, lashed out at Tamim Iqbal for being selfish and for putting his desires ahead of the team’s requirements.

As it was revealed, Tamim was left out of the Bangladesh squad for not being 100% fit with the left-handed batter claiming that BCB was trying to play dirty games with him. Ahead of the major tournament, BCB had asked Tamim Iqbal to bat in the middle order instead of his preferred role as an opening batter.

The 34-year-old had denied BCB’s proposal and claimed publicly on Facebook that the Board is putting roadblocks in front of him as he tries to make a comeback to the national team. Tamim’s last ODI appearance for Bangladesh had come in September 2023 against New Zealand before the developments regarding BCB asking him to bat down the order took place.

In response to Iqbal’s claims, Captain Shakib Al Hasan lashed out at his former teammate and called him Selfish for not wanting to help the team. The All-Rounder even threatened to not participate in the World Cup if Tamim was included in the squad.

In contrast, Shakib Al Hasan compared the situation of Rohit Sharma who transitioned from a middle-order batter to an opener and he took a dig at Tamim for putting out childish statements in an interview weeks before the WC.

 “I am sure whoever has said it, he thought of the team. A lot of things go into building a combination for a match. So if someone has said this to him, was it wrong? Or we can’t make such a proposal? I am just going to tell someone that you can do whatever you want. Is the team first or the individual?” 

“Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener, scored 10,000-plus runs. If he sometimes bats at No. 3 or 4, would it be a big problem? It is totally childish.” – Shakib said. 

Shakib Al Hasan Reprimands Daily Star Interviewer For Asking Silly Question About Tamim Iqbal

In the latest interview with the Daily Star, Shakib Al Hasan reprimanded the interviewer for asking out-of-focus questions on Tamim Iqbal and said that it is a subject he is not interested in answering.

“Actually, the focus is elsewhere and the question you asked is not something I am interested in. It’s difficult to say with it never really happening.” – Shakib said.

“If he had played well then it would have been good for the team and it would have affected positively. And, had he played badly, it would have been better if he was not there. You can only understand something like that after the game has ended. So that’s not something i Can say.” – Shakib Al Hasan concluded.