Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal said he won’t play T20 Internationals for the national team for at least six months. 

He, however, also made it clear that he did not retire from the format, and the left-handed batter added that he would give it a thought if the team requires him in the format. 

Tamim is currently in the port city of Chattogram to play the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) for the Minister Group Dhaka team. 

“I have been in discussion with the BCB president and other board directors, and I have decided that I would focus on ODIs and Tests more,” Tamim said while talking to the  media in Chattogram on Thursday .

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“I hope the team won’t need me in the next six months,” he added. “Those who have been playing so well in T20Is will not require me, but if the team does require me, I might give it a think according to the cricketing aspect. There is no reason for any controversy.”

Earlier, Nazmul Hasan, the BCB president, had said that Tamim is not interested anymore to play T20Is for Bangladesh. 

Tamim made a good start to this edition of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) scoring fifties in the first two matches. But in the next two, he failed to impress with the bat. 

The left-handed opener played a total of 78 T20Is and scored 1758 runs with seven fifties and one hundred at a strike rate of 117.2. 

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The 32-year-old top-order batter played his last T20 International back in 2020 against Zimbabwe. He missed two historic home series against Australia and New Zealand that Bangladesh won. Tamim was out of the team in the World Cup as well.