Shakib Al Hasan Launches Scathing Attack On Tamim Iqbal After He Reaches India For ICC World Cup 2023

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has launched an astonishing attack on his predecessor Tamim Iqbal ahead of the World Cup as the fallout between two of Bangladesh’s greatest cricketers continues.

Earlier this week, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided against including Tamim Iqbal in the World Cup squad even after the opener returned to action in the series against New Zealand. Just before the squad announcement, reports from Bangladesh had suggested that Shakib Al Hasan had threatened to boycott the World Cup if BCB accepted Tamim Iqbal’s proposal of playing only five games in the competition due to injuries.

BCB eventually decided against including the opener in the squad and cited fitness issues as the reason. But hours later, Tamim Iqbal hit back at the cricket board and said that he would have fully recovered for the tournament. And amidst all these, Shakib Al Hasan has also hit back at the opener, slamming him for prioritizing himself over the team.

“I am sure someone who is authorized had said this (to Tamim),” Shakib Al Hasan told Dhaka-based TV channel T-Sports. “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?”

Shakib Al Hasan hits out at ‘selfish’ Tamim Iqbal:

Speaking further, Shakib Al Hasan indirectly called Tamim Iqbal selfish for not accepting the proposal of batting in the middle order.

“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. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first. It doesn’t make any difference if you have made 100 or 200, and the team loses. What can you do with personal achievement? You want to make a name for yourself?

“You are not thinking about the team at all. People don’t understand these things. Why was the proposal given to him? It was for the team. What is wrong in that? You are a team man when you agree to such a proposal. Unless you are thinking along those lines, you are not a team man. You are playing for individual records, success, fame, and name. Not for the team,” said Shakib Al Hasan.

Things started taking an unexpected turn in July when Tamim Iqbal sensationally announced his retirement from international cricket midway through the series against Afghanistan. He eventually reversed his decision after a meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

But a back injury ruled him out of the Asia Cup and he also decided to resign from ODI captaincy. He recently returned to action against New Zealand but missed the final match of the series. Speaking about the fitness issue, Shakib Al Hasan made it clear that he didn’t want to carry a player with a question mark on his fitness

“I didn’t discuss the subject with the particular player, medical team or selector. It is definitely the board’s decision. People might doubt my capability or capacity but someone like MS Dhoni, who has won everything and has the knowledge and sense, once said that the unfit player who is playing is cheating his team and country. I think we should accept it, and not just Tamim but every player (that you have to be fully fit when playing for the team or country).”

“Kane Williamson won’t play the first two matches, but then he will start playing,” Shakib said when he was told about other players making it to the World Cup even though they are not fully fit. “If I knew something like this, I wouldn’t have any problems. But if I know that there’s uncertainty about him playing the seventh or the third or the first game, or that I will only know in the morning of the game, it will be difficult for me to select the team. I don’t think we need such a player.”

Shakib Al Hasan also hit back at Tamim for his decision to resign as ODI captain just two months out from the World Cup, saying: “I have often heard in the dressing room that he is leaving the captaincy. Even a player once told him that ‘bhai, leave it early so that the new captain gets a bit of time’. Exactly that’s what happened. The one who came in, didn’t get the time. Each and everyone knew including the selectors and board officials. Papon bhai (BCB president Nazmul Hassan) certainly knew about it.

“I don’t know why he didn’t leave it (earlier). He can tell you. It is like, your commander takes you to war but (Shakib mimicking a solider) after he has got you ready, the commander isn’t telling you to fire or retreat. Where will you go? We were in this situation in the last two matches against Afghanistan (in July).

“The captain wouldn’t have changed ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup unless he himself announced that he was resigning or retiring. It would have happened 18 months ago, when everyone knew what was about to happen,” he added.