At 35, Tamim Iqbal stands at the twilight of his cricketing career. Having served Bangladesh cricket through numerous ups and downs, he now contemplates the final chapter of his illustrious journey.

Tamim briefly retired from international cricket but made a surprising return following discussions with the then Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. Despite his comeback, he has remained mostly away from the international scene. In a candid conversation with ESPNcricinfo’s The Cricket Monthly, Tamim opened up about various aspects of his career.

Known for his tough decisions, Tamim has often been hard on himself. When asked why, he remarked, "It is actually one of the nicest questions I have received in my entire career. I don't know what to say. You are very right. I am extremely hard on myself. I wish I could have not been so hard on myself. If I wasn't, I could have enjoyed it more. I always set a good standard, maybe that's why."

Tamim’s career is filled with memorable moments, including his century at Lord’s in 2010 against England, where he scored 268 runs at a strike rate of over 96 across two Tests. He also played a key role in Bangladesh’s first Test win against England in Dhaka in 2016. Reflecting on those innings, he said, "I batted better in Manchester than Lord's. I had zero idea playing against the Dukes ball. It was my first Tests in England. It was fun batting out there. Zero expectations, compared to later.

“I needed a lot of skills to play that innings in 2016. A lot of courage to play certain shots. Manchester was the better innings, but Dhaka was most difficult."

Tamim recently led Fortune Barishal to victory in the 2023 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), where he emerged as the tournament’s top run-scorer and was named the player of the tournament. Reflecting on the BPL final, Tamim said, "Before the final I realised that all the players will look at the captain. We had a few overseas players who had never played in a [T20 franchise league] final. I couldn't show that I was nervous in the final, so the moment I walked into the ground, I told everyone that we were going to win. Sometimes you have to act to give a positive vibe to the team even though you are nervous inside. The positivity spread around the team."

In June 2023, Tamim made headlines by announcing his retirement from international cricket, only to reverse his decision after a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. " "Everyone knows what happened. The prime minister called. We had a discussion. It was almost impossible for me to say no to her. And then things changed. That's basically it,” Tamim added.

Unfortunately, Tamim missed out on playing in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup due to various controversies. Without him, Bangladesh managed only two wins in nine matches, finishing eighth.