Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh ODI Captain, Announces Shock Retirement From International Cricket

In what comes as a shocking development from the world of cricket, the Bangladesh ODI captain has announced his retirement from international cricket. The decision comes just a day after the Bangla Tigers suffered an unexpected loss to Afghanistan in a rain-curtailed encounter. With the ODI World Cup just three months away, Bangladesh would now have to look for a new captain. Tamim was extremely emotional as he announced his retirement in a press conference.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is yet to announce the name of Tamim's successor in teh 50-over format. Chances are high that one of Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das gets the job. Shakib is already leading the Bangladesh team in the T20I format, while Litton is the Test captain.

Tamim had confirmed his retirement from T20Is around the same time last year. He had played his last Test for the country against Ireland in April.

The opening batter was only a teenager when he made his ODI debut in February 2007. The career-opening game for Tamim had come for Bangladesh in the iconic win against India in the World Cup in the West Indies. The batter had scored a half-century in the game.

Bangladesh Legend Tamim Iqbal breaks in tears announcing sudden retirement before WC and Asia Cup. 34-years old batter scored over 8K ODI runs. He had scored a fifty in 2007 WC against India too. pic.twitter.com/rDB2fqXIHk

As he hangs his boots, Tamim has scored the most number of runs for the team (8313) as well as hundreds (14) in the ODI format. Among active cricketers, he is the third-highest run-scorer, only behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in one-day cricket.

In the Test format, Tamim ended his career with over 5000 runs to his name, together with 10 hundreds and 31 half-centuries.