
Picture Credit: X
On Friday, January 10, veteran Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal announced retirement from international cricket. However, his decision to call quits from international cricket came with speculations making rounds on his return into the squad for the highly-anticipated Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to be played between February 19 and March 9 in Pakistan and the UAE.
Notably, this is the second time that he has called time on his career, having previously retired in July 2023. However, he reversed his decision within the next 24 hours after the intervention from Bangladesh’s then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Moreover, the 35-year-old informed of his decision to the Gazi Ashraf Hossain-led selection committee on Wednesday in Sylhet.
Tamim Iqbal retires from international cricket for the second time ahead of Champions Trophy 2025
Despite having spoken to Bangladesh ODI and Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto to reconsider his time, Tamim Iqbal have reportedly informed that he’ll stick by his decision. “I have been away from international cricket for a long time," he wrote on Facebook, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. "That distance will remain. My chapter in international cricket is over. I have been thinking about this for a long time. Now that a big event like the Champions Trophy is coming up, I do not want to be the focus of anyone's attention, which could lead to the team losing their focus. Of course, I did not want this to happen before, too," he added.
;
"Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto sincerely asked me to return to the team. There were discussions with the selection committee too. I am grateful to them for still considering me in the team. However, I have listened to my own heart," the post further read. Tamim furthermore dismissed the BCB's prolonged anticipation for his response, calling it "unnecessary" as he had already opted out of the central contracts for 2024, signalling his withdrawal from international cricket considerations.
"I removed myself from the BCB central contract a long time ago because I did not want to return to international cricket," he wrote. "Many have said that I have left the matter hanging. Why would anyone discuss a cricketer who is no longer in BCB's contracted list? I voluntarily stepped down more than a year ago," he continued. "Even after that, there has been unnecessary discussion. The decision to retire or continue playing is the right of a cricketer or any professional sportsman. I have given myself time. Now I feel that the time has come," his post further addressed.
The 35-year-old calls his time with 15,192 runs, which is second highest for the Bangla Tigers in international cricket, only after Mushfiqur Rahim. He has played 70 Tests, scoring 5,134 runs at an average of almost 39. In ODIs, Tamim has featured in 243 matches and massed 8,357 runs, which the most for the country at an average of 36.65.