Tamim Iqbal did not pick phone calls from BCB high-ups before annoucement of international retirement - Reports

Veteran Bangladesh player Tamim Iqbal's sudden decision to announce retirement from international cricket on Thursday, July 6, sent shockwaves in the country.

In an arranged press conference in Chattogram, a teary-eyed Tamim called it a day to his illustrious international career. The Bangladesh ODI captain said it wasn't a 'sudden decision', although it came just three months before the marquee 2023 World Cup in India.

According to a report by Cricbuzz, Tamim Iqbal did not respond to calls from the senior officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) before his official announcement to retire. The reports suggest that a former national captain was sent to hold talks with the 34-year-old, but the move went in vain.

BCB called for an emergency meeting to discuss Tamim's immediate retirement and decide his successor, both as captain and an opener, in the 50-over format.

Tamim played 70 Tests, 241 One-Day Internationals and 78 T20Is, amassing 15,148 runs across formats at an average of 35.39 with 94 fifties and 25 centuries to his name. He finished his glittering career as Bangladesh's leading run-scorer on the international stage.

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Rony Talukdar to replace Tamim Iqbal for Afghanistan ODIs

Dhaka Division batter Rony Talukdar is set to replace Tamim Iqbal for the ongoing ODI series between Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Tamim played the first ODI in Chattogram on Wednesday, which the hosts lost by 17 runs via DLS method.

Talukdar is a right-handed batter who has scored 3,290 runs in List A cricket at 26.32. The 32-year-old made his ODI debut against Ireland earlier this year.

"Rony (Talukdar) will be drafted in the squad as we need to have another opener in the squad considering there is no Tamim Iqbal for us," a BCB official was quoted by Cricbuzz.

The official also added that Litton Das, who was deputy to Tamim in ODIs, will lead the side in the remaining two games of the Afghanistan series. However, a decision over full-time captaincy will be taken soon.