Tearful Tamim announces shock retirement

Tamim Iqbal announced his retirement from international cricket at a news conference broadcast live on national television

Bangladesh's one-day international captain Tamim Iqbal has retired from international cricket - just three months before the Cricket World Cup.

Tamim broke into tears as he made the announcement during a news conference, broadcast live on national television.

"There was no sudden reason behind this, I was thinking about it for quite some time," he said.

"I was talking about it with my family members for a few days. I thought this was the right time for me to decide."

Tamim's announcement comes a day after he played in the first ODI of a three-match series against Afghanistan, scoring 13 off 21 balls as Afghanistan claimed a 17-run win.

The opening batter came under heavy criticism, led by Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan, for deciding to play despite admitting he was not 100% fit.

Tamim is the only Bangladeshi to have scored centuries in all three formats of the game and had already retired from Twenty20 internationals in 2022.

He made his international debut in February 2007 and has played in 241 ODIs, scoring 8,313 runs with 14 centuries - both the highest by a Bangladeshi batter.

Tamim also scored 5,134 runs from 70 Tests with 10 hundreds and had spells in England with Nottinghamshire and Essex.

Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar said he is "one of the greatest batsmen Bangladesh ever produced".

Ashfaque Nipun, one of Bangladesh's top film-makers, added: "You will always be remembered for your fearless batting days."