Hate crime not to blame for exit: Iqbal

A Bangladesh cricketer says his decision to leave county side Essex has nothing to do with a hate crime.

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal has denied the reason for his hasty departure from Essex was because of an attempted acid attack on his wife.

Tamim last week signed for eight NatWest T20 Blast games but only played one before Essex announced on Tuesday he was cutting short his stay in Chelmsford for "personal reasons".

And the 28-year-old left-hander has scotched reports his exit was prompted by his wife being the target of an attempted hate crime in the area.

In a post on his Facebook page, Tamim wrote: "I want all my fans and well wishers to know that I cut short my season with Essex to come back home early for personal reasons.

"Some media reported that we were the target of attempted hate crime. This is really not true.

"England is one of my favourite places to play cricket and Essex have been entirely gracious even though I had to leave early.

"I thank all my fans and well wishers for their concern and messages and look forward to going back to England for future matches."