Tamim’s deleted status heightens confusion on T20I future

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has sparked a new controversy over his T20I future after the dashing opener posted a curious status before instantly deleting the post on Sunday night.

Tamim's post came when the Tigers were on the verge of a 35-run defeat against West Indies in the second T20I in Dominica and the post raised many eyebrows.

His verified page had the post, 'T20 International', followed by three hand-waving emojis, indicating goodbye to the shortest format of the game.

Although the post was deleted soon after, the screenshot of the post had already gone viral in social media platforms.

Screenshot of Tamim's status

Tamim had previously announced a six-month break from the T20I format which ends on July 26 and many are assuming that the 33-year-old is set to retire from the format to give more focus to Test and ODI formats.

Tamim had previously said that he might return to the side if he is needed ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia in October but till now the experienced cricketer has not cleared his stance on the matter.

"Recently I have been in discussions with the BCB president [Nazmul Hassan] and Kazi Inam Bhai but I have decided not to consider the T20I format and I want to focus on ODI and Test cricket," Tamim told the media earlier in January this year.

"I hope in the six months, those who play do so well that the team would not require me for this format. But if the team does not do well during that period then I will think about it. My decision is purely based on cricketing aspects. There are no scopes for controversy here," he had said.

There were reports that the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan had previously requested Tamim to reconsider his decision and feature in the Tigers' T20I side but there have been no official statement from either the board or the player regarding Tamim's T20I future.