Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
Bangladesh one-day international skipper Tamim Iqbal stepped down from his role on Thursday and will be unavailable for the forthcoming Asia Cup to overcome his recurrence of back pain.
However, the veteran opener is expected to be available for the New Zealand series at home in September, followed by the ICC World Cup in India in October and November.
The Asia Cup, jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka, gets underway on August 30.
‘Given my physical condition, I thought it would be better for the betterment of my team to step down from my role as captain and that that would also help me to focus on my batting,’ Tamim told reporters on Thursday.
The southpaw announced the decision following a meeting with Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan and BCB’s cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus on Thursday.
Jalal told reporters that since Tamim would take a long time to return to the national fold due to his recurrence of back pain, he would miss the forthcoming Asia Cup.
However, he assured that the country’s top run-getter should be available for the series against New Zealand and the ICC World Cup.
‘Since Tamim returned from the UK following his treatment of back pain, he will be in full bed rest in the next week. Afterwards, he will start his rehabilitation programme gradually, which would make him unavailable in the Asia Cup as our team will leave to take part in the meet later in the month,’ said Jalal.
‘However, Tamim should be available for the New Zealand series and the World Cup.’
The New Zealand national cricket team is expected to visit Bangladesh in September to play three one-day internationals in the third and fourth weeks of the month.
Jalal further affirmed that they would announce the captain for the regional meet in due course.
‘We are yet to finalise our captain but are hoping to let you know soon.’
Tamim became the talk of the country after he abruptly announced his retirement during the ODI series against Afghanistan.
After featuring in the first of the three ODIs in Chattogram, he suddenly announced that he would no longer play international cricket.
However, after the intervention of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the 34-year-old reversed his decision.
