Tamim made his ODI debut in 2007 and played his first Test match the following year. Between December 2010 and September 2011 he was vice-captain of the national team. In March 2021, Tamim became the first Bangladeshi player to score 50 ODI half centuries. He is widely regarded as one of Bangladesh's greatest batsmen for having scored the most runs in ODI cricket.

Early and Personal Life

Tamim was born to Iqbal Khan and Nusrat Iqbal Khan in the port city of Chittagong. His paternal Khan family is a respected family in the city, with ancestors from Bihar. His maternal family belongs to Salempur in Uttar Pradesh. Tamim is the brother of Nafees Iqbal and nephew of Akram Khan, both of whom played Test cricket for Bangladesh.

Tamim's father, Iqbal, used to run small cricket tournaments to help his sons train and get better at cricket. His brother Nafees, a former national team cricketer, said in an interview: "Tamim was the more talented. When Tamim was 12 or 13 he hit 148 when the team was chasing 150."

Tamim married Ayesha Siddiqa in June 2013 with a grand ceremony in Chittagong. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was also present at the event. On February 28, 2016, he had his first son named Arham. On November 19, 2019, he had his first daughter named Alishba.

Domestic and T20 Franchise Career
Dhaka Premier League

He plays first-class cricket for the Chittagong Division cricket team.

Circular Cricket

In 2011, Tamim became only the second Bangladeshi to play county cricket in England (Shakib Al Hasan was the first) when he signed for Nottinghamshire in June 2011. He was recruited as a short-term replacement for Australia batsman David Hussey, who was called up to the national team. During his stay, Tamim played five games and hit 104 runs with a peak tally of 47. Tamim, whose drumming was described as "solid if unspectacular" by The Nottingham Post, commented on his performance: "It could have been better, but it wasn't too bad". Despite playing in a foreign country, the media in Bangladesh put pressure on Tamim - particularly when Nottinghamshire faced Worcestershire fielded by Shakib Al Hasan - and his exploits sometimes made the front pages. Tamim was selected to play for Essex in the NatWest T20 blast but left the tournament for personal reasons.

HRV Cup

At the end of October 2012, the Wellington Firebirds signed him for the New Zealand HRV Cup, a T20 competition.

Sri Lankan Premier League

He was picked up by Wayamba United for the 2012 Sri Lanka Premier League.

Indian Premier League

He was signed by Pune Warriors India for 2012 Indian Premier League and rejected by them which upset him in 2012 Indian Premier League but did not appear in a single game.

Bangladesh Premier League

He led Duronto Rajshahi in the second edition of BPL. In October 2018, he was called up to the Comilla Victorians squad following the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Comilla Victorians won the tournament after beating Dhaka Dynamites in the 17-run final, with Tamim scoring 141 points, his first century in the BPL, and scoring 467 runs in that tournament. In November 2019, he was selected to play for the Dhaka Platoon in the 2019–20 Bangladesh Premier League. and in the tournament he became the first cricketer to complete 2000 runs in BPL history.

Caribbean Premier League

He was ranked as an international elite player for the inaugural Caribbean Premier League in 2013.

Bicentenary

In July 2014 he played for the Rest of the World in the Bicentenary Match at Lord's.

Pakistani Super League

Tamim played for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League from 2016 to 2018. In 2020 he represented the Lahore Qalandars.

Afghanistan Premier League

In September 2018, he was called up to Nangarhar's squad for the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.

Bangabandu T20 Cup

He played for Fortune Barishal in Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020-21.

International Career
Early Career

Tamim, a young Bangladeshi talent who played at the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka, was selected for the 2007 World Cup and played against India in the group stage of the competition, scoring and assisting 51 runs from 53 deliveries his team to win the game. In December of the same year, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) awarded Tamim a one-year Class C contract, one of 22 core contracts the board had at the time. Although he was still on the lowest tier of central contracts, it was an extension of his previous contract, which lasted six months.

On Bangladesh's tour of the West Indies in July and August 2009, Tamim scored his first Test century against a West Indies team weakened by disputes between players and administrators, resulting in seven players making their Test debuts in the game. His efforts with the racquet helped Bangladesh to an historic win - their first win over the West Indies in Tests, their first overseas Test win and only their second Test win. He finished with 128 and was named Man of the Match for his performance (he also scored 33 in the first innings). Speaking of his innings, Tamim said: “It was a flat wicket and if you focus hard and make sure to hit straight it's a good stretch to score. I'm only 20 and I've only played 11 Tests, I think there's a lot more [innings like this] to come." Bangladesh won the second Test, securing their first overseas win in the process. Iqbal was on 197 runs Bangladesh's leading run scorer in the series.

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons said in January 2010 that Tamim "has what it takes to be a world-class opener".

Wisden Cricketer of the Year

During the first innings of the first Test against England in March 2010, Tamim hit 86 carries from 120 deliveries. In doing so, he became the fastest Bangladeshi batsman to reach 1,000 Test runs in terms of innings and needed 19 to reach the landmark. He also became the third youngest player in Test history (behind Sachin Tendulkar and compatriot Mohammad Ashraful) to reach 1,000 Test runs.

In May of that year, Bangladesh toured England for two more Tests and three ODIs. Although his team lost 2-0, Tamim scored a century in each of the Tests. Tamim was named one of the four Cricketers of the Year by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2011 for his performances against England. In October, he was also named Wisden's Test Player of the Year, ahead of Graeme Swann and Virender Sehwag, who finished second and third, respectively. During the award qualifying period, Tamim hit 837 runs in seven Tests with an average of 59.78. It was only the second time a Bangladeshi player had won the award, as Shakib Al Hasan was known last year. At the beginning of November, the BCB announced 16 central contracts. Tamim was one of six top-level players.

Vice Captain of Bangladesh

In December 2010, Tamim replaced Mushfiqur Rahim as Bangladesh vice-captain. In the opening match of the 2011 World Cup, he scored 70 goals against India in a losing affair. In the following game against Ireland, he scored 44 balls from 43 and made a catch. In the next game against the West Indies, Tamim was caught slipping for a third-ball duck when Bangladesh folded for their lowest ODI score, 58 All Out. In the following game against England, he scored a quick 38 fire to give his side another good start, with Bangladesh eventually winning by two wickets.

Tamim was only the second Bangladeshi to play county cricket in England (Shakib Al Hasan was the first) when he signed for Nottinghamshire in June 2011. He was recruited as a short-term replacement for Australia batsman David Hussey, who was called up to the national squad. During his stay, Tamim played five games and hit 104 runs with a peak tally of 47. Tamim, whose drumming was described as "solid if unspectacular" by The Nottingham Post, commented on his performance: "It could have been better, but it wasn't too bad". Despite playing in a foreign country, the Bangladeshi media pressured Tamim - particularly when Nottinghamshire faced Worcestershire fielded by Shakib Al Hasan - and his exploits sometimes made the front pages.

When Bangladesh toured Zimbabwe for a single Test and five ODIs in July 2011, they did so with the expectation of winning. Zimbabwe returned from a six-year exile from Tests, although Bangladesh had not played in this format for more than 14 months. Although Tamim claimed in a press conference Zimbabwe's bowlers posed little threat, Tamim managed 58 runs in the Test as Bangladesh slipped to defeat. Bangladesh lost the following ODI series against Zimbabwe 3-2. Bangladesh's batsmen struggled early in the series, with Tamim hitting 157 carries from five innings at a 31.40 average. After the series, Shakib and Tamim were fired as captain and vice-captain, with a BCB representative citing their poor leadership.

Post Vice-Captain

West Indies toured in October and faced Bangladesh in a T20I, three ODIs and two Tests. Although Bangladesh lost the Test series 1–0, Tamim was his team's leading run scorer with 186 from four innings, including two half centuries. The BCB established the six-team Bangladesh Premier League in 2012, a 2020 tournament due to be played in February this year. The BCB made Tamim the "iconic player" of the Chittagong Kings. However, his performances were limited due to a groin injury and he only played two games and scored eight runs.

In March 2012, Bangladesh hosted the Asian Cup. Tamim, who was recovering from typhoid, was initially dropped from the squad by order of BCB President Mustafa Kamal. Controversy arose when Kamal overruled the selection committee and Tamim was eventually reinstated in the squad. He responded by hitting four consecutive half-centuries, becoming the first Bangladeshi player to accomplish the feat at ODIs. Bangladesh, against expectations, reached the final despite losing to Pakistan by 2 runs. Later that month, Tamim signed with Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League but did not play a single game for the team. In April, his top central contract with BCB was extended.

In late 2012 Bangladesh hosted West Indies where Bangladesh won the ODI series despite losing the T20 and Test series. His highest scores during the ODI and Test series were 58 and 72, respectively. Tamim's best performance of the entire series was an undefeated 88 in the lone T20 match, despite losing the match 18 runs long.

When Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka in March 2013, Tamim was not selected for the first test but finished 10th and 59th in the following test. In the first ODI, Tamim was the first Bangladeshi to score against Sri Lanka with a 136-ball 112 a hundred scored before it expired. Bangladesh scored 259 points in their innings, but Sri Lanka managed to chase their goal.

Post-World Cup 2015

After the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh played a home series against Pakistan. Tamim played an excellent ODI series against Pakistan, where he led to victory two centuries in a row. Finally, Bangladesh whitewashed Pakistan in an ODI series for the first time and Tamim was named man of the series.

2016 and Beyond

Tamim was the top running scorer at the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India. That included an unbeaten 103* against Oman in the group stage of the tournament. He became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to score an international T20I hundred while beating the previous high score of 88* (also held by him). This subsequently helped Bangladesh qualify for the Super 10 stage. Tamim also topped the highest number of six-hit charts at the tournament.

In August 2016, Tamim suffered a fracture of his pinky finger which ruled him out of competitive cricket for about three weeks. This means he may be uncertain about selection for the ODIs against Afghanistan. but he was selected for ODIs and scored 80 and 118 in the first and third ODIs against Afghanistan.

In the first ODI against Sri Lanka on March 26, 2017, Tamim became the first Bangladeshi to hit 10,000 international runs.

Champion Cup 2017

In preparation for the 2017 Champions Trophy, Iqbal scored 100 points against Pakistan in a warm-up match at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Playing against England in the first of the league games at The Oval, he scored 128 balls from 142, taking the team's total to 305, which was later chased by the latter. In the next game against Australia, he scored 95 balls from 114, a game that ended without a result. In the semi-final against India, he scored 70 balls from 82 in a losing matter and finished the tournament with 293 runs. He was also named by ICC and Cricinfo as part of the 2017 Champions Trophy Team of the Tournament.

In August 2017, he was called up to a World XI team to play three Twenty20 International matches against Pakistan at the 2017 Independence Cup in Lahore.

2018

On January 23, 2018, against Zimbabwe, Tamim became the first batter for Bangladesh to reach 6,000 runs in ODIs. During those innings, Tamim also surpassed Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya's 2,514 runs at R. Premadasa Stadium to become the top runs scorer at a single venue in ODIs.
In April 2018 he was one of ten cricketers awarded a central contract by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) ahead of the 2018 season. That same month he was called up to the XI's Rest of the World squad for the one-off T20I against the West Indies, to be played at Lord's on 31 May 2018.

In July 2018, Tamim hit 287 runs with an average of 143.5 in a three-game streak against West Indies and became the man of the streak for the fourth time in his ODI career, which was the second-highest for a Bangladeshi player in ODI after Shakib Al-Hasan. He jumped to 13th in the ICC ODI batsman rankings with a career-high Elo rating of 737.

2019 Cricket World Cup and Beyond

In April 2019 he was named to Bangladesh's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On July 2, 2019, Tamim played against India in his 200th ODI.
In July 2019, Bangladesh's regular captain Mashrafe Mortaza was ruled out of the three-game ODI series against Sri Lanka due to a hamstring injury. Tamim was made a captain for the first time in ODIs. He had previously managed Bangladesh in just one friendly against New Zealand in 2017.

2020

When Zimbabwe toured Bangladesh in March 2020, he scored 158 runs with 136 balls in the 2nd ODI, the highest single score of any Bangladeshi batsman, also the 2nd Bangladeshi batsman scored a century in Sylhet, and he was the first Bangladeshi batsman to score 7,000 runs scored in ODIs. In the 3rd ODI he scored 128 runs from 109 balls and formed a partnership of 292 runs with Litton Das in the opening wicket which is the highest partnership for Bangladesh for any wicket in ODIs.

ODI Captain (2020–Present)

On 8 March 2020, Tamim Iqbal was named Bangladesh ODI captain after Mashrafe Mortaza resigned as ODI captain in March 2020 following the Zimbabwe series.

As he became full-time ODI captain, Bangladesh played their first ODI series against Windies in January 2021. Bangladesh won the series 3-0 while hitting 158 runs in three games was the series' all-time leading scorer.

In May 2021, Sri Lanka toured Bangladesh for a three-game ODI series. Bangladesh won the first two games and lost the third game, eventually winning the ODI series 2-1. It was Bangladesh's first bilateral series win over Sri Lanka.

Records and Achievements

Tamim is the first Bangladeshi to have scored 10,000, 11,000, 12,000 and 13,000 international runs.
In January 2018, Tamim against Zimbabwe at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka as first batsman for Bangladesh achieved 6,000 and 7,000 runs in ODIs and has surpassed Sanath Jayasuriya's 2,514 runs at R. Premadasa Stadium to become the highest run -Scorers in a single place in ODIs.
In 2011, Tamim was named as one of the four Cricketers of the Year by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and Wisden's Test Player of the Year, becoming only the second Bangladeshi player to receive this award.
Tamim is the only Bangladeshi cricketer to have scored centuries in all three formats of the game.
With 24 centuries, Tamim is Bangladesh's top century-maker in international matches and brings together all forms of cricket.
Tamim is currently the top runs scorer for Bangladesh in international cricket including Test, ODIs and runner-up in T20Is to Shakib Al Hasan.
In January 2020, in the opening round of the 2019–20 Bangladesh Cricket League tournament, Tamim achieved the highest score in first-class cricket by a Bangladeshi batsman with 334 undefeated players for the East Zone.
In the 2020–21 Bangabandhu T20 Cup, Tamim became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score 6000 runs in T20.
In March 2021, Tamim became the first Bangladeshi batsman to reach 50 ODI half-centuries.
In May 2021, Tamim became the first Bangladeshi batsman to reach the 14000 international run milestone.