Nafees Iqbal, former Bangladesh opener and current member of the Bangladesh team management, provided an explanation for his departure from the national team during an international match.
During the recent home series against New Zealand, Nafees served as the operational manager for the national team. On September 26, he arrived at the stadium to fulfill the same role in the third ODI. However, at some point after the match commenced, he left the stadium, sparking rumors of his resignation from the national team.
Nafees, who played 11 Tests and 16 ODIs for Bangladesh, addressed the situation in a late-night statement on Wednesday.
"I am also human and carry emotions like everyone else," he wrote in a social media post, attributing his decision to leave the team to the emotional impact of learning that he would not be a part of the Bangladesh contingent in the World Cup earlier that morning.
"I certainly did not resign from the BCB, and my action had no relation to the ongoing situation of my younger brother Tamim Iqbal," he further clarified. "The World Cup team was announced 6-7 hours after my departure from the ground."
Nafees emphasized that he followed all necessary protocols when leaving the field. He said he informed the head coach first and then followed the protocol he needed to follow to leave the stadium.
The Bangladesh team is currently in Guwahati, India, where they will compete in two official warm-up matches ahead of the main World Cup event, set to commence on October 5. Bangladesh`s first match is against Afghanistan on October 7 in Dharamshala.
