Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal was quick to shut down reports of a rift in the national cricket team after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Najmul Hasan Papon said that the atmosphere in the dressing room of the cricket team was not pleasant owing to a rift between team leaders Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan.
According to Papon, there was major 'grouping' in the dressing room, which needed to be resolved soon. Papon 0also added that he tried to restore peace between the two players, but to no avail.
However, Tamim was not pleased with the words used by the BCB President, especially because his team have been doing considerably well at the international level. "I have been playing international cricket for the last 17 years. Whenever the team does well, this term is used, this group, that group," Tamim said during the press conference ahead of Bangladesh's three-match ODI series against Jos Buttler's England which kicks off on March 1.
"The ones who know me, I am a straightforward person. There is nothing to hide. I will speak straight, whether you like it or not, it's your call. I haven't seen grouping 16 years ago, I haven't seen it 10 years ago and it doesn't exist even now. I wasn't there with the team for six months and if something developed during this phase, then I don't know.
"But going by what I have seen over the last three to four days, I haven't seen anything. Everyone is enjoying it. It's unfortunate that such talks come up whenever the team does well," Tamim added.
The opener has been away from international cricket since his country's tour of Zimbabwe in September 2022. He will hope to return to the pitch to lead his team for the first ODI between England and the Tigers, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 1 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.
