Shocking: Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal quits Essex County Club after alleged acid attack

Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has left English county Essex after an alleged acid attack on him and his family.  The 28-year-old -- Bangladesh's highest international run scorer with more than 10,000 to his name in all forms of the game -- signed only last week for an eight game stint in the T20 Blast county competition.

According to a report in Bangladesh's The Daily Star, the incident happened when Tamim was dining with his wife Ayesha Siddiqa, who wears a hijab, and their one-year-old son. The paper claims the trio were chased out of the restaurant and had acid thrown at them, but they managed to escape unhurt.

Sunday's seven-wicket loss to Kent was the only match played by Tamim before the horrific incident happened and he decided to leave with his family. The club, though, released a statement saying that he left because of 'personal reasons'.

"Essex County Cricket Club can confirm that overseas player Tamim Iqbal has left the club with immediate effect due to personal reasons," the statement read. "We wish him all the best, and it would be appreciated if Tamim's privacy is respected during this time."

Tamim starred with the bat for Bangladesh in the recent Champions Trophy scoring a splendid century against England, falling five short of another century against Australia and hitting 70 in the semi-final against India.

(Inputs from PTI)