The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Saturday that Tamim Iqbal has withdrawn himself from the India Tour due to personal reasons.
Tamim Iqbal informed the BCB of his unavailability for the tour citing the expected birth of his second child as the reason for his withdrawal. Further, Imrul Kayes has been called-up for the T20Is as his replacement. Though, it’s still uncertain if he will be included in the Test squad as well.
”Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal Khan has pulled himself out of the Tour of India on personal grounds. Tamim had communicated his reasons for wanting to miss the tour and the Board has accepted the request. The BCB will name a replacement for Tamim shortly,.’ – a BCB press release said.
He has decided to skip the India series in its entirety after receiving an update on his wife’s health. Earlier there was speculation that he might miss part of India series but eventually decided to stay back with his wife in Bangkok.
”We have brought Imrul as the coach wanted to observe him but we are yet to decide whether he will be a replacement or not,” BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin told.
Tamim has been out of the field for the last few months. He last played against Sri Lanka at their den where he led the side. Since then, he missed out on the tri-series and also the Test match against Afghanistan as he wanted a break due to his poor form.
When it looked like he would make a comeback, personal reasons have forced him to wait postpone it. Tamim may now make a comeback into the side next year as they have no international game in December.
However, Bangladesh will play three Twenty20 internationals and two Test matches on their tour of India, scheduled from November 3-26.
