Will Tamim Iqbal return to the national set-up under head coach Chandika Hathurusingha? It remains a billion-dollar question as the facts and developments in the recent past suggest chances are very slim.
It has been learnt that Tamim informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board of his intention of not playing under Hathurusingha verbally and also did the same when he sat with a BCB special committee, formed to assess the Bangladesh team’s performance in the last edition of the World Cup, in Sylhet on 29 January during Bangladesh Premier League.
One of the three members on Thursday confirmed to the Daily Sun about the development, saying they have informed BCB President Nazmul Hasan Papon of the matter in the report submitted to him during the last board meeting on 12 February.

In a collage photo, Bangladesh one-day team players Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Tanzid Hasan Tamimare seen practicing at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. These cricketers joined the T20 squad to prepare themselves for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, scheduled to start in Chattogram on 13 March. Apart from these cricketers, some other players such as Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mohammad Naim and Taijul Islam took part in a practice session on the same day. –BCB PHOTOS

“We have mentioned in the report that (Tamim won’t play under Hathurusingha)and now the president will decide,” said the special committee member on the request of anonymity.  
The gap between Tamim and Hathurusingha became public when the head coach expressed his dissatisfaction over Tamim’s words to the board president after the left hander told a press conference in Chattogram just before the start of a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan on July 4 that he would play the opening game despite not being 100% fit.
A day after the opening match, Tamim made a shocking announcement of his retirement from international cricket and said in a press conference that he had already played his last international game against Afghanistan which took place at his home town Chattogram and his decision would come into effect immediately.
However, he had to reverse his decision the next day after the intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Tamim had gone for a break for a few months and when he came back, he quit the captaincy and also skipped the Asia Cup to get fully fit for the World Cup.
Tamim made a comeback through a three-match ODI series against New Zealand and played the opening two games of the series. He made 44 runs in his last ODI played on 23 September 2023 and since then, he only featured in the BPL for Fortune Barishal.
When contacted on Thursday, Tamim told the Daily Sun that he has not informed any such thing (not willing to play under Hathurusingha) to anyone in BCB.
“I have not informed anything to anyone. I'm going to have a meeting once I'm back to Bangladesh,” he said through a WhatsApp message.
Tamim recently became the highest run-getter in the 10th edition of the BPL and led Barishal to their maiden BPL title after beating four-time champions Comilla Victorians in the final.
Following the BPL final, Tamim insisted that a lot of things needed to be in the right order for him to make a comeback in the national set-up.
"I would like to say one thing clearly. For me to come back, a lot of things have to be right otherwise there's no point for me to just come back and play," Tamim told reporters after guiding his team to the BPL championship title.
Meanwhile, a top BCB official working closely with the Bangladesh team admitted that he is aware of Tamim’s reluctance to play under Hathurusingha but added that it can be sorted out if both parties sit together and make a compromise.
“He (Tamim) didn’t say it like that (he will not play under Hathurusingha),” the official said, adding that these are all outcomes of emotional outbursts.
 “Those things were driven by emotion. If he (Tamim) is stubborn that he won’t play (under Hathurusingha) how can you manage? The thing that can be done is to make a compromise between him and Hathu (Chandika) and that is all we can try,” said the official.
Meanwhile, BCB’s cricket operation chairman Jalal Yunus said Tamim is not available for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
 “He (Tamim) is not available in the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka,” Jalal told the Daily Sun on Thursday.
“He (Tamim) is expected to return on 9-10 March and after the first game of Prime Bank (in Dhaka Premier League), we are expecting him to sit with us. That is what he has informed us,” he said, regarding the veteran left-handed batsman, who is currently in London for holiday.