Both Shakib and Tamim met the BCB president at his residence

Chief selector refutes allegations of rift

Injury concern forces Tamim to be dropped from WC squad

A high voltage drama is reportedly taking place in the Bangladesh camp ahead of their World Cup campaign. The alleged rift between Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal has seemingly escalated to the point that it has affected Tamim Iqbal’s spot in the world cup squad. 

Saif Ahmed, the social media manager of Bangla Tigers and Rangpur Riders posted on X about the meeting between the 2 players at the BCB president’s residence. “Tamim Iqbal informed BCB that if they take him to the World Cup, they have to consider the fact that he is not fully fit and Tamim also informed that he won’t be able to play more than 5 matches in this World Cup. After hearing this, ODI captain Shakib Al Hasan said he can’t accept that and even said he himself will not play the World Cup if Tamim goes to the World Cup and plays only 5 games. He wants another player to play instead,” he posted. 

Chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu however refuted the allegations. “There are some injuries which you can’t take a risk with. This is very important. If we include someone and that player suffers from injury after going to the World Cup, then that would see the team management in a fix. So, that’s a risk. So, we took this decision after considering all these,” he said addressing the media in Mirpur last night. 

“Tamim is one of our best players but an injury concern restricts his ability. He had suffered with back pain for a long time so the New Zealand series was a chance to check his fitness. He played the second game fully, but he didn’t play the third match,” he added.