Tamim Iqbal has expressed confidence that India will travel to Bangladesh for their scheduled series this year, while also breaking his silence on the T20 World Cup withdrawal that caused a serious breakdown in relations between the two cricket boards.
Speaking to The Times of India following his appointment as head of the BCB’s ad hoc committee, Tamim was direct in his assessment of how the withdrawal was managed by the previous board.
“When the T20 World Cup situation happened, I was probably the first person to speak out publicly. The way the previous board handled it was not right. The ICC was flexible and there was room for a solution. We should have found a way through it,” he said.
Tamim described the entire episode as a source of deep disappointment for Bangladesh cricket, drawing on the emotion that has always surrounded the national team’s participation in major tournaments. He recalled the scenes when Bangladesh won the ICC Trophy in 1997 to qualify for the 1999 World Cup, with people pouring into the streets to celebrate and an entire generation inspired to dream of playing cricket professionally.
“People came out onto the streets to celebrate. That victory gave a whole generation the dream of becoming cricketers. Everyone wanted to be like Minhajul Abedin Nanna, Khaled Mahmud or Akram Khan. And yet we threw away a World Cup opportunity without proper discussion,” he said.
On the upcoming Bangladesh-India series, Tamim was emphatic that he expects it to go ahead despite the diplomatic friction caused by the withdrawal.
“There is a scheduled series against India this year. I am very optimistic that India will come to Bangladesh and play the full series. It is a bilateral series that the people of Bangladesh truly enjoy. The crowds come out, the cricket is competitive. Bangladesh played very well in the last series against India. Whenever these two countries play, especially when India tour Bangladesh, it is always a contest,” he said.
He was equally firm that the responsibility for resolving any remaining tension lies with the boards themselves, and expressed confidence that the new committee would handle that process constructively.
“Problems will always exist and it is the cricket boards’ responsibility to solve them. We now have a new cricket board, an ad hoc committee has been formed, and I am certain that communication and discussion will continue. At the end of the day, cricket should win. Whatever else happens, cricket winning is what matters most and that is what I want to work towards. I do not think there is any fundamental problem between Indian and Bangladesh cricket. If there is any issue, we can resolve it through discussion. I am very optimistic that India will tour Bangladesh,” he said.
Tamim also addressed his own retirement for the first time in some detail, explaining that a heart attack last year had proved the decisive turning point.
“The heart attack was a turning point for me. I was trying to return to the national team at the time. When the heart attack happened, I felt that was it. After a heart attack, I do not think continuing would have been worthwhile. Even if I had played on, it would only have been for another year or two. I have a small family and perhaps I was not mentally ready to return to cricket either,” he said.
