Tamim issue still hard to leave behind?

Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud felt the team need to focus on having a good World Cup and let go of whatever had transpired during the squad-selection announcement and the subsequent feud between Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan.

Despite Tamim having opted out of the World Cup, it appears that the team are still being asked questions regarding the incidents that unfolded with the left-handed opener having suggested in the video message that he felt he did not want to be part of the "dirty environment" where obstacles were being enacted on his path.

"I feel the team is bigger than any personality and the country is bigger than the team. We can't just focus on one player or say that if this happened then that would've happened," Mahmud told reporters on Sunday.

"Of course, many things could have happened. We have to fight with whatever we have.

"The World Cup is a tough place. It's a mental game. If the boys can keep their thinking straight and play their best cricket, we can try. I don't care anymore. No point in looking backwards, we have to go forward. The team are in good condition and this incident didn't affect the team. They are looking for something good and waiting for the World Cup to start."

Tamim had also said a board high-up "very involved" with cricket had talked to him about batting lower down the order or opting out of the first game. Mahmud felt such remarks provided ammunition to suspect everyone involved with the team and asked Tamim to speak more straightforwardly.

"Truth be told, if Tamim has said something like that, he should say who did it and why, for what reason. If you have a strong mentality, you should say who said it.

"It's not right that you say something that puts everyone under suspicion. If you have evidence, then say who it was. It's not time for us to think about such things," he said.

Skipper Shakib said that Tamim was not a team man as he was only thinking of his individual needs. Mahmud said both Tamim and Shakib are mature enough to talk about their issues and no one was teaching them what to say.

"I feel that everyone talked in regards to their own point of view. It's their personal matter, and both are very mature. If someone now says that Tamim was taught what to say, or if it's said that we taught Shakib what to say, then it's completely wrong," Mahmud concluded.