Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has pulled himself out of India tour as he and his wife are expecting their second child later this month.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has named Imrul Kayes as Tamim’s replacement for the three-match T20I series against that begins on November 3. Bangladesh will also play two Tests in Indore (November 14-18) and Kolkata (November 22-26).
Tamim’s withdrawal means he becomes the second player to miss the India tour with Mohammad Saifuddin already out due to an injury. The BCB, however, has not named a replacement for the all-rounder.
“Tamim had informed us earlier that he would miss the second Test in Kolkata, but now he will be with his wife for the coming weeks,” chief selector Minhajul Abedin was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Tamim has had a horrid run with the bat of late. He missed the home Test against Afghanistan and the T20I tri-series after taking a break from all formats following Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka in July.
Updated Bangladesh T20I squad:
Shakib Al Hasan (c), Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam.
