Mahmudullah retires from T20I

Veteran Bangladesh all rounder Mahmudullah Riyad has announced his retirement from T20Is on Tuesday.

He made the announcement in the pre-match press conference before the second T20I against India at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

In the T20 international, he will play for the last time in the last match of the ongoing three-match T20I series against India which will take place at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on 12 October.

While the 38-year-old has decided to call it time to his T20I career, he has confirmed that he will be carrying on in the ODI setup.

“I am retiring from T20I cricket after the last game of this series. I was pre-decided before coming here. I had a chat with my family. I spoke to the coach [Chandika Hathurusinghe], captain [Najmul Hossain Shanto], chief selector [Gazi Ashraf Hossain] and the board president [Faruque Ahmed] as well. I think it is the right time to move on from this format for me and the team. Especially with the World Cup coming up in less than two years. I will concentrate on the one-day game,” Mahmudullah said.

Mahmudullah made his T20 debut in 2007 and has since become a key figure in the Bangladesh squad. He represented the nation in 139 T20 matches, scoring 2,395 runs at an average of 23.48 and at an strike rate of 117.74.

He holds the record for most matches captained by a Bangladeshi in T20Is, leading in 43 games from 2018 to 2022.

Mahmudullah’s highest innings in T20Is was against West Indies, in Mirpur in 2012 when the right-handed batsman scored 64 runs off 48 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Mahmudullah took 3 wickets for 10 runs in 1 over against Pakistan in Mirpur in 2021, this is his career best bowling. Apart from bat-ball, Mahmudullah has also contributed in fielding. He took 50 catches in his 17-year long career, which is the highest for the country.

Familiar for his role as a finisher, his 18-ball 43* against Sri Lanka in the Nidahas Trophy 2018 is considered one of the most memorable moments of his career.

However, Mahmudullah will continue to serve Bangladesh in ODIs.