What Tamim said in his tearful farewell speech

When Tamim Iqbal entered the Krishnachura Hall of Hotel Tower Inn in Chattogram, his eyes were teary. All the journalists who were there covering the sudden unofficial press conference since midnight, instantly knew there was something massive incoming. There were rumours and assumptions that he might step down from ODI captaincy, or take a break for a while when the news of his sudden press meet broke at midnight. But Tamim shocked everyone in the hall room. He announced his retirement from international cricket affecting from today. There was a pin-drop silence, only the camera clicks could have been heard. 

A teary Tamim thanked his teammates, the cricket board, his family members, journalists and the fans for all the support throughout his career. He also urged to put an end to his topic and so many things.

Here's an excerpt of what Tamim said in his farewell speech

I played my last international game, yesterday against Afghanistan . This is the end for me. I am retiring from international cricket from this moment.     

It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about this for a while. I have my reason, I don't want to mention here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this is the right time for me to retire from international cricket.

"It was not a sudden decision. I was thinking about this for a while. I have my reason, I don't want to mention here. I have spoken to my family members about it. I thought this is the right time for me to retire from international cricket."

I need to thank a few people, which they deserve. (Pauses, and takes a deep breath).

I have always said that I played cricket (sobbing, long pause, deep breath) to fulfill my father's dream. I am not sure how much I have made him proud throughout these 16 years of my international career.

There are a lot of other people that I need to thank.

My youngest chacha (uncle) who dies, his name is Akbar Khan. I held his hands when I went to play my first cricket tournament. I thank him and his family. I thank Tapan da, a coach in MA Aziz Stadium, (long pause, sobbing), who was my coach in my childhood.

"Please end my topic here. It is the end. At least for international cricket. Let's not poke too much about it."

I thank all the players I played with from the U-13, U-15, U-17, U-19s, 'A' team, Premier League, NCL, and national team. Especially my national-team colleagues. The cricket board, definitely, they gave me the opportunity to represent the country for so long. I have captained Bangladesh too. I thank them as well.

I don't have much to say. One thing I will definitely say is, I tried my best (sobbing). I did try my best. Maybe I was not good enough or good enough. I don't know. But I tried my 100% whenever I was in the field.

There are a lot of other things I want to say, but as you can see I am almost unable to speak. But I hope you respect the situation. It is not an easy situation to speak. Quitting international cricket is not easy. I hope you understand. I am sorry to call you on such a short notice. I thank you all in the media.

I also want to thank the fans. Your love and faith in me inspired me to give my very best for Bangladesh. I want to ask for your prayers for the next chapter of my life. Please keep me in your prayers.

I am sorry if I missed anyone to thank. But whoever has helped me to grow as a cricketer and human being, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. My mother, my brother, my wife and two children. They suffered a lot in my journey. They also had much to cherish. I thank them as well. I have nothing more to say.

I would request only one thing. When you write about any cricketer in the future, you may write good about them or you may write bad about them, but let it be only about cricket. Don't go beyond the boundaries of cricket. You appreciate if someone plays well, you criticise if he plays badly. But I hope you understand that sometimes we cross the line. So I would just request. This is a very important year for the World Cup, I hope you stay with the team. It is very important.

Please end my topic here. It is the end. At least for international cricket. Let's not poke too much about it.

'Why, why, what is it, what else could have happened.' Let's put an end to this. I have always said that the team is bigger than any individual. Let's focus on the team. Two more games to go in the series. I think we should win. There are two major trophies.

Thank you all again. Nothing more to say. Hope to see you somewhere else. Thank you.