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Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has launched a scathing attack on Tamim Iqbal ahead of the World Cup, calling him "childish" and criticising Tamim for putting himself ahead of the team's needs.
"I am sure someone who is authorized had said this (to Tamim)," Shakib, told TV channel T-Sports in an interview that was aired on Wednesday night.
"I am sure whoever has said it, he thought of the team. A lot of things go into building a combination for a match. So if someone has said this to him, was it wrong? Or we can't make such a proposal? I am just going to tell someone that you can do whatever you want. Is the team first or the individual?"
In a sustained and unsparing critique, Shakib said Tamim was being selfish in not thinking of the team, reports espncrickinfo.
He said, "Someone like Rohit Sharma built his career from No. 7 to opener, scored 10,000-plus runs. If he sometimes bats at No 3 or 4, would it be a big problem? It is totally childish. It is my bat, I will play. No one else can play. A player should bat at any position for the team. Team first. It doesn't make any difference if you have made 100 or 200, and the team loses. What can you do with personal achievement? You want to make a name for yourself?
"You are not thinking about the team at all. People don't understand these things. Why was the proposal given to him? It was for the team. What is wrong in that? You are a team man when you agree to such a proposal. Unless you are thinking along those lines, you are not a team man. You are playing for individual records, success, fame, and name. Not for the team."
Shakib said he didn't want to carry a player with a fitness question mark over him into the World Cup and even went to the extent of saying anyone playing without being 100 per cent fit is cheating the team.
"I didn't discuss the subject with the particular player, medical team or selector. It is definitely the board's decision. People might doubt my capability or capacity but someone like MS Dhoni, who has won everything and has the knowledge and sense, once said that the unfit player who is playing is cheating his team and country. I think we should accept it, and not just Tamim but every player (that you have to be fully fit when playing for the team or country)."
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
