Tigers to progress even without irreplaceable Tamim, believes Mahmud

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Khaled Mahmud Sujon mentioned he was surprised to know about Tamim Iqbal's reluctance in playing further T20Is.

Previously, BCB President Nazmul Hassan relayed a conversation he had with Tamim Iqbal while talking to the reporters following yesterday's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) matches, informing that the left-hander was not interested in playing T20I cricket.

Consequently, Mahmud shared his thoughts regarding Tamim's sudden decision to the reporters at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.

"Obviously, I'm a little surprised. Before leaving for New Zealand, I asked him [Tamim] the reasons behind his disinterest to play. We didn't have a detailed discussion back then but I told him that we will talk after I return [from New Zealand].

"But before having any conversation with him, suddenly I heard Papon Bhai [Nazmul Hassan] saying yesterday that Tamim has expressed his desire to not play T20 Internationals anymore," Mahmud informed.

However, the head coach of Fortune Barishal added that he is looking forward to having a chat with Minister Dhaka's opener after their BPL encounter tomorrow.

"I will meet Tamim tomorrow as we have a match against him, and try to talk with him after the match about his problems. I think it's better to talk in person than over the phone," the Barishal head coach said.

Mahmud believes that despite the absence of the star batter, Bangladesh cricket should march forward.

"I'll definitely want Bangladesh to play their best team in all three formats. I know players like Shakib [Al Hasan] and Tamim will play three to four years at most, but I want to focus on at least one year to play with the best team we have.

"It's true that we don't have a replacement for Tamim in the top-order right now, but if someone is unwilling to play, you cannot force him. But we have to march forward, Bangladesh cricket will not be sitting idle," the former national captain concluded.