Bangladesh drop ex-captain Tamim Iqbal from World Cup squad
Bangladesh named their 15-person team for the ODI World Cup in India on Tuesday. Former captain Tamim Iqbal was left off the list because he is likely to be hurt.
Tamim, 34, quit in July, which was a surprise, but he changed his mind the next day at the request of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He only came back to the team last week for the first two games of the home series against New Zealand that just ended.
Tamim became one of the most reliable players in the country, and he is the only Bangladeshi to score hundreds in all three types of cricket.
But he didn't play in Bangladesh's final match on Tuesday, which they lost by seven wickets in Dhaka. He is also said to have refused to promise to play in all World Cup games.
Most popular The Bengali newspaper Prothom Al said on Tuesday that coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and captain Shakib Al Hasan said that only fully fit players could be in the World Cup team. This meant that Tamim could not go.
"We know that Tamim Iqbal has been hurt for a long time," said top selector Mihajul Abedin.
"He was ready for the New Zealand series and worked hard to get back in shape." But after the first game, he said he was hurt again.
Bangladesh lost all three games, but New Zealand won all three and won the series 2-0.
Najmul Hossain Shanto, a batsman, has been named vice-captain for the World Cup. He was captain for the first time in the game against New Zealand.
The Bangladesh team goes to Guwahati on Wednesday for two warm-up games, one against Sri Lanka on September 29 and the other against England on October 2. The World Cup starts on October 5.
The team will then go to Dharamshala to play their first game of the event on October 7 against Afghanistan.
Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Liton Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vice-captain), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.