Tamim recently missed a lot of T20 cricket for Bangladesh © AFP
Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan said on Saturday (January 22) that opener Tamim Iqbal is unlikely to feature in T20 internationals in future as he is not keen on playing the format.

Tamim, who missed a string of T20s due to injuries, showcased his credentials in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, hitting back-to-back half-centuries for Minister Dhaka in their opening two games.

With the next ICC World T20 scheduled this year, the stage was set for Tamim to return to the format during the home series against Afghanistan. However, Nazmul stated that the board doesn't want to push any player to play a particular format.

"Tamim has played well and he is always good," Nazmul told reporters on Saturday. "When I spoke with him last time you can say I requested him to make a return into T20Is. I have spoken with him on telephone and he just said 'please don't push me because if you push me naturally I will have to return but I don't want to play in this format'. After listening to this I felt there is no point asking him (to reconsider his decision) because if someone does not want to play any format there is no point forcing him to play,'' he said.

Nazmul added that he wasn't sure about Shakib Al Hasan's decision to soon give up on one format considering the all-rounder assured him that he will be available in every format from January.

Shakib earlier said that continuing to feature in all three formats going forward is next to impossible for him because of the pandemic-enforced quarantine constraints. "Probably he said this (taking a decision on his Test future) after the last conversation we had because he told me that from January he is available in every format and won't miss any games and naturally that includes Tests," Nazmul concluded.