A day after Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hasan suggested that the national team was suffering due to ‘grouping’, ODI Captain Tamim Iqbal has stepped out to clear the air. Iqbal insisted there was no rift and that his relationship with all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was ‘normal’.
“Our team environment has been good for a number of years. A happy dressing room allows one to achieve the type of results that you are seeing,” Iqbal told the reporters ahead of the ODI series against England.
The 33-year-old added that whatever relationship the two shared out of the field did not spill when both were wearing the Bangladesh jersey.
“The important thing is when Shakib and I put on the Bangladesh jersey, we are giving our best. And if we are helping each other when we are leading the teams, nothing else matters.”
“I can assure you that I always get his help as an ODI captain, and I am always there if needs any suggestions in the Test team. When we bat together, or when we are celebrating his wicket, it’s absolutely normal,” he added.
Iqbal was forced to issue a clarification after Hasan, in an interview with Cricbuzz claimed that the environment in the dressing room was not “healthy”.
“The biggest problem for Bangladesh cricket at the moment is this grouping, and that is the reality. I don’t have a problem with anything else,” Hasan told the website.
“I am only scared about this grouping and I only came to know about it in recent times. Even in the World Cup, what I have seen and heard despite not staying in their hotel… I cannot believe how it is possible. We have to put an end to it if we want to see a good future because one thing everyone needs to understand is that there is no scope for grouping.”
For a long time, it has been said in hushed tones in cricketing circles that Iqbal and Shakib do not share a cordial relationship.
They have been teammates since the mid-2000s after bursting onto the scene, Currently, Iqbal captains the ODI side while Shakib has the charge of the Test and T20I teams.
Bangladesh will play a three-match ODI series against England starting next week, before ending the tour with a three-match T20I series.
(With inputs from agencies)
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