BCB President Nazmul Hassan wants Tamim Iqbal to withdraw retirement

On Wednesday, Tamim Iqbal announced shocking retirement from international cricket.

Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, expressed optimism about Tamim Iqbal's future in international cricket, despite Tamim Iqbal himself stating, "this is the end for me." Addressing the media at a midnight press conference in Dhaka after an urgent BCB meeting, Hassan revealed his hopes for Tamim Iqbal's involvement in the upcoming ODI World Cup and beyond. He confirmed that he had reached out to Tamim Iqbal, but is still awaiting a response.

"I told his brother Nafees that he should at least captain the side in this series," Hassan said. "We will discuss things after the series. Then I said that a legendary cricketer shouldn't take such a decision. He is an important member of the side. Nafees said that he conveyed the message, but there was no reply. I have to wait for his response, I am hopeful that he will contact me.

"We need him in the ODI side. I will wait for him to change the decision. I will still say that we need him in the Asia Cup and World Cup teams. We will wait for him. I didn't expect such a decision from him. He told me that he wanted to play till the 2025 Champions Trophy. We made him the captain. We cannot think about it differently. We didn't have a reason to think differently."

During a prior conversation with the Daily Star on Thursday evening, Hassan reaffirmed his disagreement with Tamim Iqbal's statement given to Protidiner Bangladesh. Tamim had stated on July 4, before the ongoing ODI series against Afghanistan, that he would evaluate his fitness during the first ODI.

"I will say it every time something like this happens - he passed the fitness test, so why did he tell the media that he is not totally fit? If he wasn't fit, then how did he pass the fitness test? If he had a problem, he would tell me or the physio," Hassan said. "What was the purpose to suddenly say it in the media? This is not how international cricket is played. We will not tolerate this.

"I don't accept his retirement announcement. He is the captain, we have the Asia Cup and World Cup ahead of us. It is not a wise decision. It seems he has been thinking about it for a long time. It is not taken spontaneously. It is not a proper decision."

Lack of Respect Towards Senior Cricketers: Mahmudullah and Mashrafe Mortaza

When questioned during the press conference regarding the BCB's alleged lack of respect towards senior cricketers during their retirements, particularly the instances of Mahmudullah retiring in the middle of a Test match and Mashrafe Mortaza not officially announcing his retirement, Hasan said, "What respect should I show them? What do I have to do for them? If Bangladeshi cricketers are not respected, then who is respected?

"It is a shocking thing for me. I don't know why he [Tamim] did this. I speak to cricketers regularly but if they behave like this, I have to stop this culture."