Tamim’s BPL ends early

Khulna Tigers opener Tamim Iqbal’s outing at the ongoing ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League has been cut short with a back strain as he will miss their remaining two games.

Khulna head coach Khaled Mahmud confirmed that the opener will not take part in their last two games as a precaution for Bangladesh’s upcoming series against England.

“Tamim has a bit of a problem. He had taken an injection in Bangkok because of his back strain. He is suffering from that again. As Bangladesh have a big series coming up, we are thinking of giving him a break because playing may worsen his situation,” Mahmud said.

Tamim’s absence will not matter much for Khulna as they have already been eliminated from the tournament and have nothing to gain from their last two matches. They will face Khulna Tigers today and then take on Fortune Barishal in their final game of the tournament on Friday.

A groin injury had ruled the left-handed batter out of the India series in December 2022 and Liton Das had to lead the One-Day Internationals side in his absence.

Tamim is trying to avoid a similar fate for the England series and thus the break will be a precautionary measure.

“The break is a precaution. If he plays now, the situation can worsen. The injury is causing him discomfort. If he plays, he will play with everything, which can aggravate his injury,” Mahmud added.

Bangladesh’s ODI series will start against England on March 1 in Dhaka.

For now, the extent of Tamim’s injury has not been clarified, meaning how long it will take for him to regain full fitness is still unclear.