Tamim starts rehab for World Cup comeback

Opener Tamim Iqbal started his rehabilitation process to make him fully fit for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Opener Tamim Iqbal started his rehabilitation process to make him fully fit for the ICC Cricket World Cup, slated to be held in India later this year.

His initial target is to play the Bangladesh's home series against New Zealand in September, a series that is seen as the preparation platform for cricket's biggest extravaganza.

To make his return smooth, Tamim had already made him unavailable in the Asia Cup.

Tamim of late has stepped down as ODI captain due to the back injury that has been recurring. He was given an injection to cure the pain but that didn't give him the guarantee of permanent recovery from the injury.

But despite giving up the captaincy, Tamim was extremely keen to play the World Cup for which he skipped Asia Cup.

"I could have participated in the Asia Cup if I chose to but that would have been self-centered at the expense of the team.

That could also aggravate the injury. So, I want to take a careful step in a bid to play the World Cup," he said while announcing his decision to step down from the captaincy.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is yet to name his replacement. In the first week of July, Tamim retired from the cricket all of a sudden after Bangladesh lost its first ODI against Afghanistan.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he reversed his decision after 28 hours.

The Prime Minister instead granted him six-week off from the cricket to make him stable from the mental and physical trauma.

Tamim then spent time with his family and also consulted with doctors in England to how he could recover from the back pain that has been recurring since December last year.