Mashrafe says Shakib or Hathurusingha should have communicated directly with Tamim

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said Shakib Al Hasan or Chandika Hathurusingha should have directly spoken to Tamim Iqbal regarding the team's plan to bat him in the middle order against Afghanistan. He also criticised the "third party" that leaked false information about Tamim's availability in the World Cup.

In a video published in his official Facebook page, Mashrafe spoke at length about the ongoing cricketing scenario in Bangladesh. Just hours after Mashrafe revealed that Tamim didn't want to be in the World Cup squad, the left-handed opener opened up about his much-talked about omission on Wednesday. 

According to Tamim, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official asked him to sit out or bat in the middle order against Afghanistan, presumably because of his poor record against their new-ball bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman. Mashrafe opined that no one from the cricket board has the right to make such a decision. 

"No one from the cricket board has the right to tell Tamim where to bat. It's the captain or coach's responsibility to do so," Mashrafe stated.

Tamim clarified that the rumour of him playing "five matches" in the World Cup was completely false. Shakib slammed Tamim based on that in an interview with T-Sports recorded before Tamim's clarification. 

Mashrafe was heavily critical of whoever leaked this to the media a day before the World Cup squad announcement. 

"The issue between Shakib and Tamim proves that third parties are always harmful. If there are such issues between cricketers, they themselves should solve them," he said.