New Delhi: Bangladesh’s cricketing icon announced his retirement from International cricket at the age of 34. He was the ODI captain of his team and even led his side in the opening match of the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
Tamim got really emotional and in tears, while making the announcement about bringing a sudden end to a 16-year career international career at a press conference he organized in Chattogram on Thursday, a day after Bangladesh lost to Afghanistan in the first of three ODIs.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board is yet to name a new ODI skipper to replace Tamim. While Litton Das is the red-ball captain, Shakib Al Hasan leads the team in the T20Is and will most likely be the pick to lead the team in ODIs.
Tamim retired from T20Is almost around the same time last year and played his last Test for Bangladesh in the match against Ireland in April.
With around three months left for the marquee tournament, Bangladesh will miss their most successful ODI batter in history. This announcement from the star cricketer left millions of cricket fans across the globe in shock.
Tamim made his ODI debut in February 2007 and scored a match-winning fifty in Bangladesh’s historic 2007 World Cup victory over India in the West Indies. He wraps up with the most ODI runs (8313) and hundreds (14) for his nation and is the third-highest run-scorer among current cricketers behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
He has also scored 5134 Test runs at an average of 38.89, with ten centuries in 70 matches, which is the second highest for Bangladesh.
