The wife of Bangladesh cricketer Tamim Iqbal was the target of an attempted hate crime in the United Kingdom on the night of July 10, leading the cricketer to cut short his stint with county side Essex Eagles and return home with his wife, a source close to the Bangladesh Cricket Board informed yesterday.

Tamim had only reached Essex on Saturday and played just one of the eight games he was supposed to play. It has been learnt that the left-hander left England last night and is expected to reach Dhaka in the evening today.

It is not yet known exactly where the incident occurred. According to the source, Tamim, his wife Ayesha Siddiqa -- who wears a hijab -- and their one-year-old son were dining out when some miscreants chased them and attempted to throw acid at her.

Contacted, Tamim, however, said he was returning home purely for personal reasons.

Earlier yesterday, Essex had released a statement on their website announcing that Tamim would cut his stint short due to 'personal reasons'.

There have been acid attacks in the UK against Muslims recently, with two Muslim cousins being the victims of an acid attack as recently as 21 June.