Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have decided to rest under-fire opener Tamim Iqbal for next month's solitary Test against Afghanistan following a request from the southpaw, an official said on Saturday (August 17).

Having granted Test status in 2017, Afghanistan is all set to play its first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong from 5 September.

While confirming that the board has accepted Tamim's request for a break, chief selector Minhajul Abedin also revealed that the left-handed opener won’t feature in the T20I series from September 13 which will involve Zimbabwe as third team.

"He will now rest both in the Test match against Afghanistan and also the tri-nation tournament," he told AFP.

Tamim Iqbal has been struggling for form in recent times. The 30-year-old failed to live up to the expectations during the 2019 World Cup as he scored only 235 runs in eight innings at an average of 29.37.

Following the World Cup, Tamim was made interim captain for a three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka in the absence of injured skipper Mashrafe Mortaza. But the leadership role failed to bring out the best in Tamim as he made only 21 runs in three matches and Bangladesh coped a 3-0 whitewash.

(With AFP inputs)