Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has decided to stay out of the national T20 squad for the next six months but said that he might return to the side if he is needed ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia in October.

"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," said Tamim after a practice session with his Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) side Minister Group Dhaka at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.

Tamim did not feature in four T20I series on the trot ahead of the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year and then opted out of the coveted tournament in UAE owing to lack of fitness and his willingness to give younger players who had featured more regularly over that period a chance to play with more freedom.

However, the experienced cricketer will continue to lead the ODI side and feature in the Test team during this period.

Even though Tamim said he would return to the T20I side if needed, the southpaw hoped that such a situation will not arise.  

"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," Tamim added.

The left-handed opener will be missing out on a total of eight T20I series in the next six months.