Former One Day International captain Tamim Iqbal has requested the Bangladesh Cricket Board to exclude him from the upcoming central contract.
BCB director and cricket operations committee chairman Jalal Younus revealed this to the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium Sunday.
Opening batter Tamim has been away from international cricket since the New Zealand ODI series at home in September this year.
Tamim had returned to the series against the Kiwis on the back of his sudden decision to retire from international cricket during the home series against Afghanistan in July.
However, Tamim had to revert his decision following the intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and got down to preparing for the World Cup 2023 in India in October-November.
However, an abrupt turn of events between Tamim and the BCB saw the cricketer not made part of the world event, and since then, it is unsure if Tamim will ever return to international cricket.
It is understood that the last discussion between the BCB and Tamim concluded that the cricketer will make a concrete decision on his international future following the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 season, which is set to begin on January 19.
Jalal informed that the board will soon have a meeting with BCB president Nazmul Hasan to share the draft list of cricketers for the central contract.
“The national selection panel had a meeting on it [central contract]. I also had a meeting with them, and it will now be discussed with the board. A draft has already been done. Hopefully, we will be able to present the draft list to the board on December 31. Before that, it should be given to the honorable president. He will observe it a bit, and then we will release it to the board,” said Jalal to the media.
Speaking on the Tamim issue, former cricketer Jalal said the former skipper wanted his name to be removed from the list for now.
“The issue with Tamim is that he spoke with the selectors, chief selector, and also me. You know there is a meeting with the board president next month,” said Jalal.
“It will be after the election. He [Tamim] wanted to discuss his future plans there. He has a plan of his own, so let's not keep him under contract. He has requested us not to put his name on the contract list now; after sitting down and finalizing the plan, he will let us know what he is going to do."
