Not a happy ending for Tamim: Fahim

Veteran coach Nazmul Abedin Fahim lamented the manner in which former Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal hung up his boots when he announced his retirement at a city hotel in Chattogram on Thursday.

Tamim’s retirement came as a shock as he played the first ODI of the three-match series against Afghanistan at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Wednesday despite revealing that he was not at a ‘hundred per cent’ owing to fitness issues largely relating to a recurring back problem. 

“It was indeed unexpected. He is the captain and is playing a series. The normal thing would’ve been to take the decision of retiring after the series. But to announce such a thing all of a sudden after one match; There is no reason to think that he announced it happily. He became so emotional at that point,” Fahim told The Daily Star on Thursday.

“It’s not a happy ending for sure. It was sad. He couldn’t bid farewell with a happy face even after having served Bangladesh cricket for so long.”

Tamim joined a long list of Bangladesh players who have not been able to retire from the field which is a case Fahim believes is caused by a lack of mutual respect between players and board members. 

It was reported that the team management was left unhappy about Tamim’s statements regarding testing his fitness out in an international match. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president was quoted as saying that it task at hand, the Afghanistan series, was not a neighbourhood affair in which a player would try to ascertain whether he is fit or not.

Fahim reiterated that such a relationship is a primary cause of players not being able to retire from the field.

“If we think deeply about it, I think the relationship between those who play and the ones who are in charge of administration is not very respectful. When they play well, everyone is happy, that is true but when performance and form take a hit, the real feelings and perspectives (towards players) come out.

“We have seen it so many times as it has applied to many good players. We put them up but it didn’t take much time for us to criticise and disrespect them. We have so many examples. It is a cultural thing.

“The respectful relationship that the management or the stakeholders need to have with the players is not there,” he said.