'Someone like Rohit...': Shakib hits back at Tamim over CWC fiasco, questions his 'childish' approach

A lot has been happening in Bangladesh cricket of late. The Bangladesh cricket team announced their final 15-man squad for the upcoming CWC 2023 edition in India, which gets underway on October 05 in Ahmedabad, which saw the exclusionof star opener Tamim Iqbal. Tamim has had a topsy-turvy ride in the recent past --announcing international retirement, then taking a quick U-turnand stepping down as the ODI captain.

With Shakib Al Hasan replacing Tamim as the Bangladesh ODI skipper ahead of the forthcoming World Cup, Tamim held on to his spot during the home ODIs versus New Zealand. After the second ODI, he complained of back issues -- which had forced him to miss the Asia Cup 2023 edition -- and eventually got ruled out. Thus, Tamim lost his spot in the World Cup squad due to injury concerns. However, the opener made a shocking claim of beinga victim of dirty politics.

On Wednesday (September 27), Tamim took to Facebook and confirmed thathe would have been fit enough to take part in the ODI World Cup. However,he won't be travelling to India solely because he is aware of the roadblocks being created for him by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). One of which, he said, was a top board official suggesting him to give up his opening slot and bat lower in the order.

'Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener'

Now, Shakib has hit back at Tamim's claims and lashed out at the former captain. "I am sure someone who is authorized had said this (to Tamim). I am sure whoever has said it, he thought of the team. A lot of things go into building a combination for a match. So if someone has said this to him, was it wrong? Or we can't make such a proposal? I am just going to tell someone that you can do whatever you want. Is the team first or the individual?" Shakib told the Dhaka-based TV channel T-Sports in an interviewaired on Wednesday evening.

"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. It doesn't make any difference if you have made 100 or 200, and the team loses. What can you do with personal achievement? You want to make a name for yourself?" Shakib pointed out.

"You are not thinking about the team at all. People don't understand these things. Why was the proposal given to him? It was for the team. What is wrong in that? You are a team man when you agree to such a proposal. Unless you are thinking along those lines, you are not a team man. You are playing for individual records, success, fame, and name. Not for the team," the all-rounder opined.

Shakib went on to add that he did not wish to carry a half-fit player in a marquee event like the ODI World Cup. He claimed that anyone playing without being 100% fit is cheating the team.

'MS Dhoni once said that the unfit player is cheating his team and country'

Shakib mentioned, "I didn't discuss the subject with the particular player, medical team or selector. It is definitely the board's decision. People might doubt my capability or capacity but someone like MS Dhoni, who has won everything and has the knowledge and sense, once said that the unfit player who is playing is cheating his team and country. I think we should accept it, and not just Tamim but every player (that you have to be fully fit when playing for the team or country)."

Shakib added, "Kane Williamson won't play the first two matches (in CWC '23), but then he will start playing.If I knew something like this, I wouldn't have any problems. But if I know that there's uncertainty about him playing the seventh or the third or the first game, or that I will only know in the morning of the game, it will be difficult for me to select the team. I don't think we need such a player."

"I certainly heard that he will play selectively. A journalist can't really tell you that he will come to the office an hour before he wants to come to office. If you ask me personally, if I was the company CEO, I won't keep that employee. Although I never had any discussion about this matter."

36-year-old Shakib also criticised Tamim for not leaving captaincy early and stated, "I have often heard in the dressing room that he is leaving the captaincy. Even a player once told him that 'bhai, leave it early so that the new captain gets a bit of time'. Exactly that's what happened. The one who came in, didn't get the time. Each and everyone knew including the selectors and board officials. Paponbhai(BCB president Nazmul Hassan) certainly knew about it."

"I don't know why he didn't leave it (earlier). He can tell you. It is like, your commander takes you to war but (Shakib mimicking a solider) after he has got you ready, the commander isn't telling you to fire or retreat. Where will you go? We were in this situation in the last two matches against Afghanistan (in July). The captain wouldn't have changed ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup, unless he himself announced that he was resigning or retiring. It would have happened 18 months ago, when everyone knew what was about to happen," Shakib added.

It will be interesting to see if Tamim responds to Shakib's claims. For Bangladesh, they play Sri Lanka and England in their two CWC '23 warm-up ties, on September 29 and October 02, before opening their campaign in the tournament versus Afghanistan on October 07 in Dharamshala.

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