Bangladesh began their Twenty20 preparation on a tense note as vice-captain Tamim Iqbal resigned from the position on Saturday night, soon after the Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed Mashrafee bin Murtaza to lead the Tigers in the two-match series against Sri Lanka.
Tamim’s decision to resign from the post of vice-captain created an uncomfortable silence in and around the team on Sunday after they had drawn a Test match against the touring side in a brave manner just a day earlier.
Although Tamim said that he made the decision so he could concentrate on his batting, it was learned that he had been expecting to take the captain’s mantle for the series after Mushfiqur Rahim was ruled out due to injury.
‘I always want to play freely as it is my major duty, but after being appointed the vice-captain my concentration was not totally on my batting as I was required to put some time into the other aspects apart from my prime task,’ Tamim told reporters on Sunday.
Insiders close to the team confirmed that Tamim was upset after learning that the BCB had opted for Mashrafee instead of him for the Twenty20 series as he was Mushfiq’s deputy and thus in line to take the helm.
But his captaincy was widely criticized on the second day of the second Test, when he led the Tigers in Mushfiq’s absence and took a defensive approach when Kumar Sangakkara was on his way to a triple century.
Tamim opted to spread the field at one point, allowing the left-hander to score at will. He also chose to field at third man instead of being in the thick of things near the middle.
Cricket operation chairman Akram Khan confirmed the news of Tamim’s resignation but refrained from making an official statement despite being the chairman of the committee whose primary job is to manage the national team.
‘Please ask Jalal Bhai regarding this matter,’ said Akram, who is also Tamim’s uncle.
However, Akram’s silence raised quite a few eyebrows, as he made a huge fuss after Tamim was dropped from the last Asia Cup squad while he was still the chief selector.
Akram resigned, claiming that the team was not made by the selection committee but rather it by then BCB boss AHM Mustafa Kamal, and he returned only after the intervention of government high-ups.
Jalal Yunus said that the BCB president had made the decision to appoint Mashrafee after speaking with some of the senior directors.
‘The president is at an important meeting at Singapore and only after arriving can he say why Mashrafee was chosen,’ said Jalal.
To avoid any embarrassment, the BCB had sanctioned a letter on Sunday evening asking that no one speak to the media for the next 48 hours.
-With New Age input
