"Never a quiet day in Bangladesh cricket" - Twitterati left stunned with Tamim Iqbal's shock retirement from international cricket

In a shocking development, Bangladesh's ODI captain Tamim Iqbal has retired from all international cricket with immediate effect. The 34-year-old opener made the announcement in a teary-eyed press conference in Chattogram on Thursday, July 6.

With just over three months to go for the ODI World Cup in India, the news has sent shockwaves around the cricketing fraternity. It also happens to come in the middle of Bangladesh's three-match ODI series against Afghanistan with the hosts losing the opener on Wednesday.

Along expected lines, fans were left stunned by Tamim's decision to move on from the game. While there were some who suggested that it was the right move, others were left scratching their head over the same.

Here's a look into those reactions:

Tamim Iqbal represented Bangladesh in 389 international matches

Ever since making his international debut in 2007, Tamim went on to establish himself as a stalwart in Bangladesh cricket history. It reflects in a long career spanning over 16 years where he turned out in 70 Tests, 241 ODIs, and 78 T20Is for the country.

He was named the team's ODI captain in early 2020 after Mashrafe Mortaza stepped down from the role. Under his leadership, Bangladesh won 21 out of 37 matches in the 50-over format, coinciding with a highly successful run for the team.

Tamim finishes with 8313 runs at an average of 36.62 with 56 fifties and 14 hundreds and remains the country's all-time leading run-scorer in ODIs.

In recent times, he has had issues with his fitness and was a doubtful starter for the first ODI against Afghanistan too owing to a back injury which also kept him out of the solitary Test against the same team last month.

His recent batting form wasn't at its best either and a visibly emotional Tamim decided to move on from the game on Thursday. A few months ago, he also made headlines when rumors of an alleged rift with senior player Shakib Al Hasan did the rounds.

It's not clear yet as to what was the main reason behind him deciding to call it quits. Bangladesh will now have to look for a new leader three months ahead of the World Cup, with Shakib and Litton Das, who have led the team in different formats in recent times, possible contenders.

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Can Bangladesh cope with Tamim Iqbal's absence at the 2023 World Cup? Have your say in the comments section below!

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