Photo File/ Script- The Daily Star
Tamim Iqbal's decision to exclude himself from selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman in October-November could be a positive decision for the left-handed opener as the captain of the Bangladesh ODI side, thought former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.
"There are some decisions that change the landscape of a person's life. I think it is one such decision. And for this decision, whenever Tamim will step into the ground to lead Bangladesh [in ODIs], all the boys will give their all for Tamim," wrote Mashrafe on his personal Facebook page yesterday.
Tamim, the country's most successful opener till date, announced in a Facebook live from his official account yesterday that he is making himself unavailable for the upcoming T20I World Cup as he thought it would be 'unfair' on certain young players if he suddenly gets back in the squad for the World Cup.
Tamim last played a T20I in March 2020 against Zimbabwe. Since then, Bangladesh have played 11 T20Is -- three during their tour of New Zealand, three away to Zimbabwe and then the Tigers hosted Australia for five T20Is last month -- all of which Tamim missed either due to injury or for opting out due to personal reasons.
Tamim is also not in the squad for Bangladesh's ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand due to his ongoing recovery from a knee injury. That means, if the BCB declared the T20I World Cup squad with Tamim featuring in it, which was very likely, then the left-hander would have gone into the World Cup straight after missing four series and 16 T20Is.
And as Tamim deemed, it would have been unfair on the likes of Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar or Liton Das if the southpaw was to be included at the expense of any of these openers.
Hence, Mashrafe also backed Tamim's decision.
"I think Tamim took the decision after a lot of thought and we should respect that. This will reduce the state of uncertainty regarding the top order," added Mashrafe.
The charismatic leader also said Tamim's decision justified the hard work the other openers have been putting in during his absence.
"And even if no one does, Tamim himself justified the hard work that these [other] openers have put in," added Mashrafe.
Mashrafe probably ended by expressing the feelings of many Bangladesh fans.
"Tamim is still the best [opener] and will remain the best In Shah Allah. We would not want to see the best batsman of ODIs and Tests to be upset over something like this. Tamim has still to lead Bangladesh to many more victories. You beauty [Tamim Iqbal] Khan, you will be missed in the T20I World Cup," concluded Mashrafe.
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