Tamim Iqbal does not hold a grudge against the Bangladesh Cricket
Board for its decision to strip him of vice-captaincy and is instead
determined to help the team rediscover its winning touch in the upcoming
series against the West Indies.
As part of the ramifications of the disastrous tour of Zimbabwe where
the Tigers lost both the one-off Test match and the five match one-day
series, Sakib al Hasan and Tamim were relieved of their duties as
captain and vice-captain of the side on September 6.
During the tour of Zimbabwe, Tamim in particular grabbed the media
spotlight mostly for his off-the-field antics, firstly when reports of a
row between him and coach Stuart Law over training emerged before he
infamously labelled Zimbabwe’s Brian Vitori an ‘ordinary bowler’.
The left-hander, along with Sakib was also said to be embroiled in a
dispute with the team management in Zimbabwe over the selection of
Mohammad Ashraful in the Test team, something that was believed to have
caused friction in the dressing-room.
Speaking to the media at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Friday, Tamim
fully accepted the board’s decision to remove him from the post – a
decision he feels the board is entitled to make, although he would have
preferred to have been consulted before the announcement was made.
‘At this moment, I feel we should put these matters behind us and
look forward to the upcoming series [against the West Indies]. There has
been enough talk about these issues but now let’s just get away from it
and look forward,’ said Tamim.
‘The inevitable has happened and there is nothing I can do about it. To be honest, I feel very normal.
‘I did not ask for the vice captaincy neither did I give it away.
It’s totally the board’s decision and I respect that. I am not at all
worried or bothered about the reason behind the decision as it was
beyond my control,’ said Tamim.
‘However, it would have been better if they had discussed the matter
with me once before making a decision but even then I don’t have any
complaints,’ he added. The swashbuckling opener, who was appointed as
the Tigers’ deputy skipper on December 31, 2010 for a period of one year
leading up to the World Cup, though, declared that it was an honour to
have served as the team’s vice-captain and harboured no regrets about
losing the position while pledging his full support to whoever is
appointed as the team’s new captain and vice-captain.
‘Vice captaincy is an honour and I used to like the title. I cannot
say much about captaincy but the vice-captain has a great deal of
responsibilities and I think I performed them well,’ said Tamim.
‘Throughout the world, the cricket boards decide on who will become the cap
tain and the vice-captain so the board knows best about who should be
picked for the position. Whoever becomes the new captain and
vice-captain of the side will have my full support.’
While his primary focus remains on helping the side out with his
blazing stroke-making,Tamim has refused to close the door on the
possibility of reclaiming the role in future, and would gladly accept it
should the board identify him as being the right man for the job.
‘The only thing that I know is that I am the happiest man in the
world when I am performing well for the Bangladesh team. If I keep
performing well, I may again be considered for the role’ said Tamim.
‘But at this moment, I may not be the right man for the job as far as the board is concerned which I am fine with,’ he added.
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