Bangladesh legend Tamim Iqbal announced his retirement from international cricket today.

An emotional Bangladesh ODI captain read out a statement communicating his decision during a press conference at a hotel in Chattogram.

Here is what he said:

"People usually have their speech pre-written in situations like these but, throughout my life, I've never done it. I will not stretch this but try to keep it as brief as possible.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) against Afghanistan was my last international game. I am retiring from international cricket, effective right now.

"It is not that I took this decision abruptly. There are different reasons, which I don't think is necessary to reveal here. In fact, for some days, I've been discussing it with my family members.  

"I thought this is the right time for me to take a side and retire from international cricket.

"I need to thank you people, which I think is deserving.

"I've always said that I play the game to fulfil my father's dream. I don't know how much I've made him proud throughout these 16 years of international career," said Tamim, who was in tears at this point. 

Photo: Star

"There are a lot of other people I need to thank. My youngest [paternal] uncle, the late Akbar Khan -- it was him who was beside me when I first played a tournament with a cricket ball. I thank him and his family.

"I thank everyone I've played with, whether it's the Under-13s, 15's, 17's, 19's, premier league, national league, and especially my colleagues in the national team. Cricket board, obviously, gave the opportunity to represent the country for so long and to captain Bangladesh. So, I thank them as well.

"Actually, I don't have much to say. One thing I will definitely say is that I tried my best. I did try my best. Maybe I was good enough or not good enough, I don't know, but I tried giving my hundred per cent whenever I was in the field.

"There are a lot of other things I want to really say. As you can see, I'm unable to speak. But I hope you all will be able to respect the situation. It's not an easy situation to speak since I have played so many years of international cricket. Quitting international cricket, it's not easy.

"I hope you all understand. I'm sorry that you were called on such short notice. I thank you all in the media.

"However, I will only request one thing: the ones who will play cricket in future, you will write good about them or bad or whatever, but stick to cricket. Do not cross that boundary. Stick to cricket. If the guy is playing well, you say good things and if the guy is not playing well, you will criticise. But you all must understand that sometimes we cross the boundaries.

"Those who are playing, it's a very important year with the World Cup coming up, so I hope you'll be with the team like a member of the team. Support the team, that's very, very important.

"For me, I will say the same thing, I tried my best and I gave everything. I'm sorry if I've missed out on anyone that I should have thanked for having helped me.

"But whoever has helped me to grow as a cricketer, or as a human being, I thank all from the bottom of my heart. My mother, I can't forget her, my brothers, my wife, my two children -- they did suffer a lot in my journey but had many occasions to cherish as well.

"I'll request that you end my topic right here. It's the end, at least for international cricket. Please don't poke around to find what could've happened. Let's put an end to this.

"I've always said the team is bigger than any individual. Let's focus on the team. There are two more games to go in the [Afghanistan] series, which I think we should win."