Ashwin's stunning one-word reaction sums up Tamim Iqbal's retirement U-turn; Rajasthan Royals' savage dig goes viral

Merely a day after announcing his retirement in an emotional press conference, Tamim reversed his decision following an intervention from Bangladesh PM.

Bangladesh's star batter Tamim Iqbal made a shock U-turn on his international retirement, merely a day after he had announced a decision in a press conference. Tamim was visibly emotional on Thursday as he announced his retirement in the PC, but reversed the decision following a meeting with Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. It has been reported in multiple media outlets that the Bangladesh PM intervened and convinced Tamim to return to playing for Bangladesh.

Tamim Iqbal walks back after being dismissed during 1st ODI against Afghanistan earlier this week(AFP)

Tamim's decision had left the cricket fraternity in shock, particularly given the fact that the ODI World Cup is only three months away; the marquee tournament is scheduled to take place in October-November. Before the World Cup, Bangladesh are also scheduled to take part in Asia Cup in August-September, which would serve as preparation for the global edition.

However, just as the fans were taken aback by Tamim's retirement, his quick U-turn also came as equally shocking. The Bangladesh star had been in tears at the press conference, proclaiming he “tried his best” and urging the reporters to not question about the reasons behind his retirement, which had hinted at a bigger picture over the decision.

Tamim's reversal on the retirement call also invoked reactions from the cricket fraternity with Rajasthan Royals taking a rather savage dig; the Indian Premier League franchise posted a collage featuring MS Dhoni's stumping, Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrating his half-century, Mark Wood celebrating his Ashes wicket and Tamim Iqbal's picture, and captioned, “Fastest things in 2023.”

Ravichandran Ashwin, India's star off-spinner who also represents the Royals in the IPL, also expressed his surprise.

On Friday, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) director Jalal Yunus told AFP that Tamim had a change of heart after meeting with Hasina at her Dhaka residence.

"Tamim Iqbal has withdrawn his retirement decision," Yunus said.

“However he will take a six-week rest to regain fitness. He has been under physical and mental pressure in the past six months, which affected his performance.”