Opener Tamim Iqbal announces his retirement from the T20 format

Veteran opener Tamim Iqbal has announcement his retirement from T20 format. Left-hander made a formal announcement to retire from T20 Internationals after the conclusion of the limited-overs series against West Indies.

Bangladesh ODI captain also posted a status on social media platform stating that he has decided to call it a day from T20I cricket. Bangladesh also managed to complete a 3-0 whitewash over West Indies in the ODI series played in the Caribbean.

On 27^th January, opener Tamim Iqbal decided to take a break from the shortest format of the game. Despite his hiatus from T20Is, Iqbal played domestic T20I competition in this period. The selectors have clearly made their mind that experienced player’s likes Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and others will have to make ODIs and Tests their main priority.

After his making his T20I debut in 2007 against Kenya, opener Tamim Iqbal went on to play 78 T20Is for Bangladesh, in which he has scored 1,758 runs at an average of 24.08 with a strike rate of 117.2. He has scored one century and seven half-centuries in the T20 format.

Tamim’s career best batting performance came against Oman in the T20I matches played at Himanchal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on 13^th March, 2016.

After taking a six-month break from the format, Tamim Iqbal finally decided to retire from the T20I format. Munim Shahriar has been named as a probable replacement into Bangladesh’s T20I squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.

Najmul Hossain Shanto has done a decent job for Bangladesh at the top of the innings. The selectors will be hoping that Najmul Hossain can fill the void after Tamim’s retirement from the T20Is.

Recently, Bangladesh have announced their T20I squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. After Tamim’s decision, the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyad have been overlooked for various reasons.