Tamim Iqbal

When the world talks about the sub-continental openers, they talk about the aggression factor. Virender Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar have ruthlessly destroyed bowling attacks over the years. However, an opener from Bangladesh soon joined that list and made the world take notice.

He scored his first century against Ireland, but it was his knock against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2009 which got him top billing. Charles Coventry remained unbeaten when he equalled Saeed Anwar's highest ODI score of 194. However, Tamim launched a brutal counterattack to smash the highest score by a Bangladeshi batsman. His 154 included seven fours and six sixes as Bangladesh went on to win the match.

He started off his Test debut in style by scoring a pair of fifties against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2008. He scored his maiden Test century against the West Indies in 2009 at Kingstown to help Bangladesh record their first overseas test win. He also smashed 151 against India at Dhaka. One of his most memorable moments came on the tour to England when he got his name on the Honours Board at Lord’s by becoming the first Bangladeshi player to score a century. He scored another ton at Old Trafford to cap off a wonderful summer. His performances in that tour led to Wisden naming him as the Cricketer of the year in 2011.

In March 2012 Bangladesh hosted the Asia Cup. Tamim, who was recovering from typhoid, was initially dropped from the squad on the orders of BCB president Mustafa Kamal. Controversy ensued as Kamal had overridden selection committee and Tamim was eventually re-added to the squad. He responded by striking four consecutive half-centuries, becoming the first Bangladesh player to achieve the feat in ODIs.

After the 2015 World Cup, with scores of 132, 116 and 64 in the three-match ODI series, he was the Man of the Series and played an instrumental role in whitewashing Pakistan for the first time. He continued his good work in the Tests as well, notching up a double century in Khulna in the second innings which helped Bangladesh secure a draw for the first time against Pakistan in the longest format. He was also a key member of the Bangladesh set-up that tasted series victories against India and South Africa in the same year.

Tamim opted out of the 2016 Asia Cup due to the birth of his first child. However, he was back for ICC WT20, 2016 held in India. The opener was in red-hot form in the qualifiers He scored an unbeaten 83 versus Netherlands and in a must-win encounter against Oman, he struck 103 off just 63 deliveries and became the first Bangladeshi to score a T20I century - thereby becoming the first from his nation to score centuries across all formats.

Tamim became the first Bangladeshi batsman to amass 5000 ODI runs - he reached the milestone against England in October 2016. Carrying the good form into the longest format, Tamim slammed his eighth Test ton at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and backed it up with a fiery 40 in the second essay that helped Bangladesh post their first ever Test win against England and thereby drawing the 2-match series 1-1.

He set the 2017 Champions Trophy in England ablaze with a scintillating 128 in the tournament opener and followed it up with scores of 95, 0 and 70. Although Bangladesh lost to India in the semis, they surpassed expectations of many by knocking both Antipodean nations out of the tournament.

World Cup through the years

Tamim Iqbal was chosen in the Bangladesh team for the 2007 World Cup after playing just two matches against Zimbabwe. Against India, they were chasing a low score in tricky condition and he launched into the Indian bowling attack with brutal aggression. His six over deep mid-wicket after skipping down the track to Zaheer was among the shots of the 2007 World Cup. Tamim scored a fifty and more importantly the manner in which he scored them helped Bangladesh post a historic win over India. Tamim struggled with inconsistency post that and scored only 172 runs from 9 games in the tourney.

After a decent series against Zimbabwe in Nov-Dec 2014, Tamim was diagnosed as a grade one tear on his left knee. He underwent a surgery in Australia and recovered in time before the 2015 World Cup. However, he didn't have a great tournament as he managed just 154 runs in six innings, with a best score of 95 against Scotland which provided the platform to chase down a target of 319.

Barring a couple of brisk starts, Tamim hardly made any impact with the bat in the 2019 World Cup which was held in England.

A 'partially fit' Tamim was left out of the 2023 World Cup after a prolonged saga - a back injury, a shocking retirement from international from all formats, reversing that decision and unretiring the very next day after meeting the then Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, and then eventually stepping down as the ODI captain. He also hit out at BCB a day after being omitted from the 2023 WC squad. In between all of those episodes, Tamim played his final international match in an ODI against New Zealand in September 2023.

In January 2025, Tamim Iqbal confirmed retirement from international cricket after discussions with the national selection panel ahead of the Champions Trophy.