Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal draws curtain on T20 career

After almost 15 years, Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal Sunday decided to draw the curtain on his T20 International career.

The 33-year-old, in a Facebook post, made the announcement shortly after leading the ODI side to a 3-0 series win against West Indies.

“Consider me retired from T20 international from today,” Tamim wrote on his Facebook page.

The official announcement ended week-long speculations about Tamim’s decision to continue playing the format he has taken a six-month break in January this year.

Earlier, in January, the star player had said that he was taking a break from T20 cricket for six months.

“My full focus will be on Tests and ODIs,” he had said on January 27, 2022. "We are preparing for the World Test Championship and the 2023 World Cup qualification. I will not be thinking about T20Is in the next six months.

“I hope those playing will do so well, that the team won't need me in T20Is. But if God forbid the team or cricket board needs me, and I am ready, I will possibly think about it,” he added.

The star player played his last T20I in March 2020 when he made 41 off 33 balls against Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, he had led Bangladesh to five consecutive ODI series wins, including the one against West Indies that concluded on Saturday.

Tamim was a regular in the Bangladesh T20I side from 2007 to 2018, having played 75 out of 84 possible games for the side.

He remains the only batter with a century for Bangladesh, finishing as the third highest run-scorer with 1,701 runs at a 24.65 average.

Despite the official announcement, Tamim will likely play in domestic T20 competitions. He is the all-time leading run-scorer in the BPL, having played in every season of the tournament.