In a dramatic turn of events, Tamim Iqbal withdrew his retirement after intervention from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The latest development brought to an end dramatic last few days in the Bangladesh cricket arena which took a turn for the worse Thursday afternoon with the shock announcement by Tamim that he was retiring from international cricket with the World Cup only three months away.
Thankfully for Bangladesh cricket, things finally settled down Friday evening after Tamim, accompanied by his wife, Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan and former captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza met the PM at Ganabhaban.
Upon being urged by the Premier, Tamim reversed his decision and will now return to competitive cricket after a one and a half month break in time for the Asia Cup.
Here is a timeline of the chaotic last few days:
Tamim's comment on his fitness, availability (July 4, Tuesday noon)
It all started when Tamim said in the press conference on the eve of their first game against Afghanistan that he is not 100% fit but that he will still play.
"I am definitely available. Physically, I am in a better state than before but I won't say I am at 100%. After the game, I will be able to understand the situation but till now, [the decision is] I am playing," the skipper said at the media briefing after the end of the Tigers' training session.
BCB boss reaction to a local media (July 4, Tuesday night)
The BCB chief lashed out at Tamim for this statement.
In an interview, he questioned Tamim's integrity, quoting, “This is not gully cricket, how can a player assess his fitness while playing international cricket?”
The BCB supremo also said the head coach Chandika Hathurusingha called him and had a heated argument on this issue.
Bangladesh lose to Afghanistan in first ODI (July 5, Wednesday)
The Tigers were off to a losing start in the three-match One Day International series, going down by 17 runs in accordance with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.
Youngster Towhid Hridoy's 69-ball 51 was the only innings of note in a disappointing Bangladesh batting display, while Tamim was out for 13 off 21 deliveries.
Tamim's sudden call to press (July 5, Wednesday night)
There was no practice or media session in the port city for the Bangladesh team but when Tamim invited journalists to attend a press conference Thursday noon, rumors started spreading that some big announcement might be coming.
There were some concerns that Tamim might give up captaincy and focus on his batting ahead of the Asia Cup and World Cup, two very big and important tournaments coming up for the Tigers this year.
Tamim's shocking announcement (July 6, Thursday noon)
"The match against Afghanistan Wednesday was the last of my career. From this moment onwards, I'm saying goodbye to international cricket. I did not take this decision suddenly. I've been thinking about this for a while. There are different reasons, I don't think I have to mention those. I talked to my family regarding this. It occurred to me that this was the right moment. I'm retiring from international cricket. I thank everyone,” red-eyed Tamim said with tears in his eyes.
BCB reaction on midnight (July 7, Friday midnight)
The BCB president hoped that Tamim would change his stance on retirement and keeping that in mind, the board had decided not to name a new captain for the time being.
“Tamim is still the ODI captain. For any reason if the skipper does not play then the vice captain (Liton Das) would take charge of the team. That is what will happen. For now we are not naming any permanent captain,” said Nazmul at late midnight at a press conference in Dhaka.
PM calls Tamim to meet at Ganabhaban (July 7, Friday)
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called Tamim to talk about the issue, and the left-handed opener returned to Dhaka from Chittagong responding to her call Friday morning.
Tamim and Mashrafe were at Ganabhaban Friday afternoon to meet with the PM.
During his meeting with the Premier, Tamim had the BCB chief and Mashrafe as company.
Tamim withdraws retirement (July 7, Friday evening)
Tamim withdrew his retirement after meeting with the PM, confirmed Nazmul to the media.
Tamim will now take a one and a half month break before returning for the Asia Cup, scheduled to start from August 31.
After his meeting with PM Hasina, Tamim told the media: “The honorable Prime Minister invited me at her residence today afternoon. We talked with her for a long while. She instructed me to return to the game. As of now I'm withdrawing my retirement.
“I can say no to everybody but it is impossible for me to turn down the request of the country's most important person. Papon bhai (Nazmul) and Mashrafe bhai also played a big role. Mashrafe bhai brought me along, Papon bhai was also with me. The Prime Minister gave me a break for one and a half months so that I can be a bit more free mentally.”
BCB boss reaction on Tamim's return (July 7, Friday evening)
“It is a matter of relief for us. How can we play without our captain!” said Nazmul ahead of a busy few months for the Tigers with the home series against New Zealand in September followed by the all-important World Cup in India in October-November.
“Since he is lacking physical fitness and not in the right state of mind, he took a break for one and a half months. I hope he will soon join us after recharging himself.
“After watching his press conference, I had this feeling that he took an emotional decision. I had the belief that if we could meet face to face we'd be able to find a solution to this. Through the honorable Prime Minister we were able to talk him out of it. He has not retired.”
For the sake of Bangladesh cricket, let's hope Tamim comes back refreshed after his six-week break and helps the Tigers in their bid to achieve something glorious from two big events.
For a fit and firing Tamim will surely boost Bangladesh's chances in the flagship events.