Tamim Iqbal plans to retire from one format to prolong Bangladesh career

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal is thinking of giving up one format in order to focus effortlessly on the other two formats of the game. There were assumptions that the veteran cricketer might quit the shortest format of the game, given his strike rates in the format. However, the 32-year-old has insisted that the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in India is very much on his mind. Well, Tamim did not reveal which format he is going to cease or specify any time frame to prolong his international career, but he has already made plans regarding the same. 

Over the last 14 years, Tamim has been a regular player for Bangladesh at the top of the order. The batsman has only missed a handful of matches, primarily due to injuries. Iqbal recently withdrew from playing in the T20I series against New Zealand, citing personal reasons. In his absence, Mahmudullah led the team in the first two T20Is, with Liton Das taking over the leadership charge in the final match of the three-match series.

I want to leave one format of the game to make sure I can give my best to the other two formats: Tamim Iqbal

Tamim Iqbal reckoned that, usually, players tend to leave one format of the game at a time. They keep their most preferred format for the end so that they can lengthen their career in that format. The skipper hinted that he might want to leave the ODI format last.

Iqbal made his debut for Bangladesh back in the year 2007 and caught the limelight in the World Cup, where the Tigers made it to the second round. In 2008, he made his Test debut. Tamim was a teenager back then and is currently the leading run-scorer for his nation across all the formats of the game. With a staggering 353 international caps to his name, the left-handed batsman is among the top three most capped players in Bangladesh’s history. However, just like several of his compatriots and counterparts, the Bangladesh ODI captain has dreams and plans of having an elongated international career stretching well into the late 30s. In 62 Tests, 213 ODIs, and 78 T20Is, Tamim has accumulated 4508, 7452, and 1758 runs, respectively, with 23 centuries and 85 half-centuries.

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