"No one realized that he would take such a decision" - Litton Das on Tamim Iqbal's announcement

Bangladesh's interim ODI skipper Litton Das dismissed questions about Tamim Iqbal's abrupt retirement from international cricket. Das asserted that he had no idea the veteran batter would announce his retirement until he did.

Tamim Iqbal stunned the cricketing fraternity as he announced his return from all forms of international cricket on Thursday (July 6). The 34-year-old grew emotional during the press conference and sought the blessings of his fans for the next chapter of his life.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the second ODI against Afghanistan on Saturday, 28-year-old Litton Das was agitated as a journalist asked a question about Tamim. He said, as quoted by Cricbuzz:

"Bhai (brother) I came here to talk about tomorrow. If you ask questions regarding Tamim here, then the board president or the coach is more appropriate than me and I think I should leave. I came to know about it (his retirement) at 1 in the afternoon.

"Certainly I have played with him for a long time and no one realized that he would take such a decision but the decision is made by the elder brother and all the member of the team respects his decision and I feel everyone should do the same."

Tamim retired as Bangladesh's most prolific ODI run-getter with 8,313 runs in 241 ODIs. However, the southpaw got out for only 13 in his last ODI innings.

"Difficult to say whether we will miss him" - Litton Das on Tamim Iqbal

Tamim Iqbal. (Image Credits: Getty)

The right-handed batter went on to state that it was unclear whether Bangladesh would miss Tamim in the near future.

"It is difficult to say whether we will miss him because today, I am here tomorrow, I might not be here due to injury and no one will miss me because newcomers will come into the side and this is the process.

"If he was around, it could or could not be, but as he is not available anymore, I don't think there is no need to talk with me about the topic anymore."

Veteran all-rounder Shakib al Hasan is likely to captain Bangladesh during the 2023 World Cup. The Tigers lost the first ODI against Afghanistan and will look to level the series in the second match.