“Shakib could have messaged Tamim or spoken for a minute” - Mashrafe Mortaza hits out at BCB over Tamim Iqbal controversy

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has lashed out at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for failing to handle the Tamim Iqbal situation and allowing it to snowball into a massive controversy. Mortaza opined that captain Shakib Al Hasan could have approached Tamim and discussed the matter with him amicably.

In some rather embarrassing developments, Tamim blamed the BCB for his non-selection in the World Cup 2023 squad, claiming that he was asked to bat down the order. Subsequently, Shakib lashed out at the senior Bangladesh opener and termed him selfish for not thinking about the team first.

Taking to his official Facebook page, Mortaza was extremely critical of BCB for the manner in which they handled the entire situation.

“As the captain, Shakib could have messaged Tamim or spoken for a minute, saying, 'I have this plan, I'll discuss it with you later.' I think that would have resolved the entire issue here," he said.

On the controversy over Tamim being reportedly asked to bat down the order in spite of him being an opener, the former Bangladesh captain was quoted as saying by India Today:

“According to my cricket knowledge, this instruction of batting in the middle order or skipping the first game should have come from coach, captain or a selector who will go with the team. Not from any BCB official. They could have said it after announcing the squad or two days before the first game. I don’t understand the reason behind telling this to Tamim before announcing the squad."

“After Tamim announced retirement, the issue went even to the prime minister. She asked Tamim to play the World Cup and that’s why Tamim agreed to it. I don’t think any further discussion was needed for this especially from any BCB official. All these conversation with Tamim should have come after announcing the squad,” Mortaza added.

Tamim recently made a comeback from a back injury during the series against New Zealand. However, after batting in the second ODI, he admitted that he was still feeling pain in his back.

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Shakib’s tirade against Tamim

In a recent interview with T-Sports, Shakib lashed out at Tamim and described his unwillingness to not bat in the middle order as childish.

"Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener, scored 10,000-plus runs. If he sometimes bats at No 3 or 4, would it be a big problem? It is totally childish. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first," Shakib said.

Tamim, 34, has played 243 ODIs, scoring 8357 runs at an average of 36.65, with 14 hundreds and 56 fifties to his name.