During the Test series, Shakib announced the end of his T20I career, which means Bangladesh will go through a major transition in the shortest format.
In a massive development from the Bangladesh cricket circuit, a star player has announced his retirement from the T20Is. The player has been a central figure in Bangladesh cricket and is among the oldest players in the setup.
Mahmudullah, a 38-year-old veteran, will hang his boots from the shortest format after the ongoing three-match T20I series against India. He revealed he had already planned to retire from T20Is to focus on the 50-over format.
“I was pre-decided [about retirement] before coming to this series, had a chat with the captain and the coach and intimated my decision to the BCB president. It’s the right time to move on from this format and try to focus on the ODIs.”
Mahmudullah made his T20I debut in 2007 against Kenya and has featured in as many as 139 T20I matches. He has scored 2394 runs at an average of 23.47 and a 117.64 strike rate and taken 40 wickets at 27.35 runs apiece in his lengthy career spanning over 17 years.
The news about Mahmudullah’s retirement comes days after Shakib Al Hasan decided to quit the T20I format. During the Test series, Shakib announced the end of his T20I career, which means Bangladesh will go through a major transition in the shortest format.
They are already without Mushfiqur Rahim, who retired from T20Is in 2022 just before the T20 World Cup. With two years in the next T20 World Cup, the team will have ample time to rebuild.
Mahmudullah’s T20I career of 17 years and 35 days is the third-longest ever after Shakib Al Hasan and Sean Williams. He retired from Test cricket in 2021 after playing the game against Zimbabwe in Harare.
With the focus on the Champions Trophy next year, Mahmudullah hopes to continue his fine form in ODIs after a successful World Cup in India last year. He ended the tournament as Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer, with 328 runs at an average of 54.67 and a strike rate of 91.62 in seven innings, including one fifty and a century.
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