• Source:JND
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JE Sports Desk: Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Thursday, one day after playing the first ODI against Afghanistan in Chattogram.

His retirement comes as a surprise as he was part of the ongoing ODI series against Afghanistan and was slated to lead Bangladesh in the ODI World Cup later this year.

The opening batter has featured in 241 ODIs and 70 Tests accumulating 8,313 and 7,188 runs respectively. Tamim is Bangladesh's leading run-scorer in the ODI format.

Announcing his decision at a press conference in Chittogram, Tamim said the decision is well thought-out and discussed with his family.

"This is the end for me. I have given my best. I have tried my best. I am retiring from international cricket from this moment. Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game. It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about the different reasons. I don't want to mention here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this is the right time for me to retire from international cricket," Tamim said.

"I need to thank a few people, which they deserve. (Pauses, and takes a deep breath). I have always said that I played cricket (long pause, deep breath) to fulfil my father's dream. So I am not sure how much I have made him proud throughout these 16 years of my international career," he added.

"Please end my topic here. It is the end. At least for international cricket. Let's not poke too much about it. 'Why, why, what is it, what else could have happened.' Let's put an end to this. I have always said that the team is bigger than any individual. Let's focus on the team. Two more games to go in the series. I think we should win. There are two major trophies," Tamim concluded.

The southpaw has been the instrumental batting figure for Bangla Tigers since making his debut in 2007. He scored 24 centuries and 87 fifties across Tests and ODIs in his 16-year-long career. In April last year, he announced his retirement from T20Is to focus on ODIs and Tests.