When Bangladesh announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 on Tuesday (September 26), there was a notable omission in it.

Veteran opener Tamim Iqbal, who shocked the cricketing by reversing his retirement decision in July, failed to make the cut.

While the southpaw didn’t feature in the Asia Cup 2023 due to a back injury, he regained fitness and took part in the recently held ODI series against New Zealand at home. Therefore, his absence from the Word Cup squad raised a lot of eyebrows.

Amid the speculations, former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has said that Tamim wasn't dropped from the squad but he himself opted out of the World Cup.

Mashrafe, however, refrained from revealing the reason and left it to Tamim to explain.

"One misinformation that may have been spread is that Tamim has been dropped, but the truth is he didn't want to be in the squad. There is a difference between being dropped and not wanting to be in the team," Mashrafe Mortaza wrote on his Facebook handle.

"I think Tamim deserves this minimum respect. Now there would be the question as to why Tamim was not interested in being in the team. Actually, I have no answer to this question. Only Tamim can say this. Maybe he will say it someday, then we can understand," he added.

Meanwhile, Tamim Iqbal took to Facebook on Wednesday (September 27) morning and said that he would post a video message to clear the air after the Bangladesh squad leaves for India to take part in the World Cup.

On Tuesday, Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that Tamim was not picked in the World Cup squad due to his long-standing injury issues.

“We are all aware that Tamim Iqbal is a long-term injury concern. He returned for the New Zealand series. After the first match, there was a bit of a complaint. We thought of his injury concern when not taking him in the squad. We have spoken to all concerned, before taking this decision. We discussed it with Tamim. We can’t tell you what we spoke about. We discussed it with the team management and didn’t want to take a risk in a long World Cup campaign. It is a very important event,” Abedin told reporters.

Bangladesh will open their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan in Dharamsala on October 7.

Bangladesh's World Cup squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (vc), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tawhid Hridoy, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mahmudullah Riyad