Courtesy: BPL/BCB
Tamim Iqbal, the former Bangladesh captain, spoke passionately about the state of cricket in the South Asian country after leading Fortune Barishal to the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024-25 title in Dhaka. The 35-year-old, who announced his retirement from international cricket last month, spoke about how Bangladesh fans should unite in support of the national team rather than be a Tamimian, Shakibian, and Mashrafian whenever they take the field.
Notably, in the final of the BPL 2024-25, Tamim Iqbal sent Chittagong Kings to bat first at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, and in their allotted 20 overs, they put up a formidable score of 194/3 on the board with fifties from Pravez Hossain Emon and Khawaja Nafay. In response, Fortune Barishal got over the line with three balls to spare and three wickets in hand to win the title after a quick-fire fifty from Tamim Iqbal, while Shoriful Islam took a four-wicket haul.
There is no Tamimian, no Shakibian, no Mashrafian. There is only one supporter, which is Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal
Following the conclusion of the BPL final, Tamim Iqbal was facilitated by Faruque Ahmed, the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, the Advisor to the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the Bangladesh government. During the felicitation ceremony, in front of the players of both the teams and the thousands of fans inside the stadium, Tamim Iqbal also had his wife Ayesha along with children Arham and Alishba present.
Tamim Iqbal went on to address the Bangladesh fans about how their fandom for certain players could negatively impact cricket in the country, urging them to stop doing it. He was quoted as saying, as per India Today, “There is no Tamimian, no Shakibian, no Mashrafian. There is only one supporter, which is Bangladesh. This thing destroys Bangladesh cricket. So please, please, please stop doing this.”
“You can be a fan of me, you can be a fan of Shakib Al Hasan, you can be a fan of Mashrafe Mortaza and others. But when we play, we play as Bangladeshis. Stop this because this destroys the younger generation. This is the last message I would like to give you guys,” he added.
