Tamim Iqbal gets another big blow from Bangladesh Cricket Board after ODI World Cup snub

After being snubbed out of the ODI World Cup squad where Bangladesh had a terrible campaign, Tamim Iqbal has asked the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to not name him in BCB’s central contract list for 2024.

The BCB agreed and decided not to give Tamim Iqbal a central contract because of uncertainties revolving around his international career. He announced his retirement from cricket back in July 2023 but changed his decision overnight after being convinced by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Tamim Iqbal resigned from his role as a captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team but made himself available for the ODI World Cup 2023 but was dropped from the squad after a fallout with skipper Shakib-al-Hasan.

The World Cup was a disaster for Bangladesh as they finished eighth in the tournament with only two wins in nine games. However, Tamim Iqbal did not return to the squad after the World Cup and missed the home and away series against New Zealand.

Tamim Iqbal returned to action in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League where he represents Fortune Barishal. He is having a mediocre season in BPL so far.

Earlier, he said that he would decide on his future in international cricket during the BPL. He has already retired from T20Is and his avenues to make a comeback are the longer formats. BCB has decided to exclude some more noteworthy players from their central contracts.

Tamim Iqbal has been one of the best openers for Bangladesh over the years and is one of the legends of his nation in the sport.

He has amassed more than 8000 runs in ODIs and more than 5000 runs in Test cricket and is the only Bangladesh batter to smash a century in all three formats. Tamim is the first player from Bangladesh to score a T20I century which came against Oman in 2016.

Apart From Tamim Iqbal, Few Other Players Are Also Sidelined By BCB For The Central Contracts

Ebadot Hossain, Afif Hossain, and Mosaddek Hossain are some other players who have been snubbed by the BCB from the central contract list. Bangladesh Cricket is witnessing a new era under the captaincy of Najmul Hossain Shanto with a lot of youngsters bursting into the international scene for Bangladesh like Towhid Hridoy, Tanzim Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Naeem Hasan, and Nurul Hasan have been rewarded by the board with central contracts.

Bangladesh Cricket team will host Sri Lanka in March for a multi-format tour where the two teams will play three T20Is, three ODIs, and two Test matches. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have a heated rivalry amongst each other which was sparked even further after the ‘timed out’ controversy in the ODI World Cup where Shakib-al-Hasan appealed for Angelo Mathews to be timed out and he was declared out.

2024 Bangladesh central contracts

All formats: Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shoriful Islam

Tests and ODIs: Mushfiqur Rahim

ODIs and T20Is: Taskin Ahmed, Towhid Hridoy, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud

Only Tests: Mominul Hoque, Taijul Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Khaled Ahmed, Naeem Hasan

Only ODIs: Mahmudullah, Tanzim Hasan

Only T20Is: Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Nurul Hasan