Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said that Tamim Iqbal, who was left out of Bangladesh’s 15-man squad for the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup, was not a team man because he was unwilling to obey the order.
Tamim, after being left out, posted a video on his Facebook page on Wednesday, where he stated that he was asked to bat down the order in the match against Afghanistan by a top Bangladesh Cricket Board official, which led to him saying that he didn’t want to be selected if this was the thought process.
Later on Wednesday, a Bangladeshi television channel broadcast an interview of Shakib, where he called out Tamim by tagging him as not a team man, and also childish.
‘I am sure someone who is authorised had said this (to Tamim). I am sure whoever has said it (Tamim batting down the order), 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 said.
He further added, ‘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 like that 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 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 with 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.’
There were also concerns regarding Tamim’s fitness, cited as the main reason behind his omission by the national team selection panel. However, Tamim later said in his video that although he is in pain, he would have been ready for the tournament, according to the physio report but added that it might happen that his pain increases, leading to him being unable to play.
Shakib was also questioned during the interview regarding the availability, where the Bangladesh skipper cited New Zealand captain Kane Williamson’s case and said that if he knew that a player was out for a particular number of matches, then he would be okay with it.
‘Kane Williamson won’t play the first two matches, but then he will start playing. 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 said.
