Shakib Al Hasan makes huge admission on Tamim Iqbal after Bangladesh exit in World Cup 2023

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Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has admitted Tamim Iqbal issue may have played a part in their underwhelming performance in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

Bangladesh suffered a dismal defeat at the hands of the Netherlands on Saturday. They lost the match by 87 runs and with that, have officially been eliminated from the World Cup this year.

And after they defeat at the hands of the Dutch, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan admitted the fact that the controversy regarding Tamim Iqbal has played a part in their performance.

"It might have affected the team. It's not unusual. You don't know what an individual has in his mind but I am not disagreeing with the fact that (the controversy) might have affected us," Shakib said during the post-match press conference after the Netherlands defeat.

Controversy arose in Bangladesh cricket after Tamim Iqbal withdrew from the World Cup 2023 squad citing fitness issues. Then the veteran batter escalated the matter further by saying the main reason of his withdrawal was BCB's persistent pressure on him to bat lower down the order.

That led to a verbal exchange between Shakib, who called Tamim's behaviour as childish.

The Bangladesh captain also admitted the ongoing World Cup campaign is the worst in the history of their country.

"You can say that (this is Bangladesh's worst ever World Cup campaign) and I wouldn't say otherwise. We were pretty underprepared coming into this tournament but we can't use that as an excuse," the Bangladesh captain concluded.

Bangladesh have lost five matches in a row and the Netherlands loss has been the final nail in their World Cup fate. The Tigers started their campaign with a victory over Afghanistan, but have lost all the matches since then.