Bangladesh ex-captain Tamim Iqbal in hospital after heart attack

Former Bangladesh one-day cricket captain Tamim Iqbal was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack while he was on the field during a domestic match on Monday.

Tamim was leading Mohammedan Sporting Club in a match of the 50-over Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League. Although he participated in the toss, the 36-year-old later complained of chest pain and after initial treatment on the field he was transported to a nearby hospital.

“He suffered a heart attack. What I know so far is that his heart started to function better,” Debashis Chowdhury, a medical officer of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), told AFP.

Tariqul Islam, a team official, told AFP that Tamim was being treated at a hospital in Savar on Dhaka`s outskirts and urged the Bangladeshi public to pray for his quick recovery. The BCB called off its scheduled board meeting for the day following Tamim`s sudden illness, with several board members heading to the hospital to visit him.

“Initially, a helicopter was arranged for Tamim`s movement to the hospital, but he could not be flown from the BKSP ground in Savar. He was later taken to the Fazilatunnesa Hospital,” a report quoted match referee Debabrata Paul as saying, as per news agency PTI.

The treating doctors also issued an official medical bulletin on Tamim`s health. “He returned to us in a critical condition. We can call it a heart attack, and we subsequently did an angiogram and angioplasty to remove the blockage. The medical procedure has gone smoothly. He is currently under observation. The swift coordination between the medical staff at BKSP and the hospital ensured Tamim was treated quickly,” the bulletin read.

Tamim represented Bangladesh in 391 matches across formats between 2007 and 2023. He has more than 15,000 international runs under his belt and is the only Bangladeshi batsman to score centuries in all three international formats.

He had announced his retirement from international cricket for the second time in January this year. Earlier, in July 2023, he had made a similar announcement during an emotional press conference but reversed his decision within 24 hours following an intervention from then Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He has played 70 Tests and 243 ODIs, scoring 5,134 runs and 8,357 runs respectively for Bangladesh. He has also accumulated 1,758 runs in 78 T20Is.

(With agency inputs)