Tamim excluded from T20I central contract, Mahmudullah from Tests

ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal has been excluded from the T20I central contract while T20I skipper Mahmudullah Riyad got the axe from Tests. No final list has been announced yet but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan Papon confirmed the matter after a board meeting on Wednesday.

Papon said that the central contracts have been finalized for three formats separately and this will be effective till December 2021.  

"The contract is effective from May to December. As Tamim opted out from the T20 World Cup and there is no further series till December, he misses out in the shortest format. But he is in the list of ODIs and Tests," Papon said during a press brief on Wednesday. 

"Since Mahmudullah retired from Test cricket, we haven't talked face-to-face. So he misses out on the Test contract. Tamim will be included if he wants to play T20Is again," he added.

Tamim Iqbal has opted out of the upcoming T20 World Cup. He hasn't been playing T20Is regularly and missed a number of matches in the last two years. The left-handed batsman has taken part in only three T20Is since January 2019.

"Since I didn't take part in the last 15-16 T20Is, it will not be fair to suddenly come and take the place of the others who played well in those games," said Tamim. 

Mahmudullah announced his retirement from Test cricket in July as well. He made the announcement during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe.

Papon is not happy with the way Mahmudullah announced his retirement in Zimbabwe. He slammed Mahamudullah in today's board meeting.  

He said, "We knew about Tamim. But Mahmudullah's one was unexpected. This is not the way. No player can make a sudden announcement like this."

Bangladesh are currently playing a five-match T20I series against New Zealand at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. And they bagged their first-ever T20 victory against the Black Caps.