Captain lashes out at star opener after World Cup squad omission
Shakib Al Hasan, has launched a scathing attack on Tamim Iqbal ahead of the World Cup, calling him "childish" and criticising Tamim for putting himself ahead of the team's needs.
Tamim has been in and out of the Bangladesh side, battling a persistent back injury, which on Tuesday was cited as the reason for his exclusion from the World Cup squad. Except, earlier today, Tamim took to Facebook to insist he would have been fit enough to take part in the tournament and that the reason he won't be travelling to India is because he had grown weary of the BCB creating roadblocks for him. One of which, he said, was a top board official asking him to bat down the order.
"I am sure someone who is authorized had said this (to Tamim)," Shakib, the Bangladesh captain, told the Dhaka-based TV channel T-Sports in an interview that was aired on Wednesday night. "I am sure whoever has said it, he thought of the team. A lot of things go into building a combination for a match. So if someone has said this to him, was it wrong? Or we can't make such a proposal? I am just going to tell someone that you can do whatever you want. Is the team first or the individual?"
In a sustained and unsparing critique, Shakib said Tamim was being selfish in not thinking of the team.
"Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener, scored 10,000-plus runs. If he sometimes bats at No 3 or 4, would it be a big problem? It is totally childish. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first. It doesn't make any difference if you have made 100 or 200, and the team loses. What can you do with personal achievement? You want to make a name for yourself?
"You are not thinking about the team at all. People don't understand these things. Why was the proposal given to him? It was for the team. What is wrong in that? You are a team man when you agree to such a proposal. Unless you are thinking along those lines, you are not a team man. You are playing for individual records, success, fame, and name. Not for the team."
Tamim's troubles began in July during a home series against Afghanistan, where he said he was playing through a back injury, the same one that he is currently managing. It led to his missing the Asia Cup and the final match of his comeback series as well, against New Zealand, earlier this week.
Shakib said he didn't want to carry a player with a fitness question mark over him into the World Cup and even went to the extent of saying anyone playing without being 100% fit is cheating the team.