Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah announces T20 retirement
India series will be my last in this format and then I will focus on ODIs, veteran says
New Delhi: Former Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad said on Tuesday his remaining two T20 matches in India will be his last international appearance in the format, vowing to play out with a “good show”.
The 38-year-old Mahmudullah, who quit Tests in 2021, is set to play his 140th T20 match for Bangladesh in the second game in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The tourists need to win in the Indian capital to keep the three-match series alive, after they lost the opener by seven wickets in Gwalior.
“I am retiring from T20 cricket after the last game of this series,” Mahmudullah told reporters.
Final match at Hyderabad
The final match of the series will be in Hyderabad on Saturday.
“I was pre-decided before coming here. I had a chat with my family and with my coach and captain,” Mahmudullah added.
“It is the right time to move on from this format for me and the team as well and concentrate on the one-day game.”
Mahmudullah has been Bangladesh’s warhorse after he made his international debut in 2007 in a One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
He has played 50 Tests, 232 ODIs and 139 T20 matches for his country with over 10,500 runs across formats as a dependable middle-order batsman and 165 wickets with his off-spin.
‘Team man’
“If we can play to our ability (in Delhi), then we could put up a good show”, he said.
Mahmudullah said he had “no regrets” in his 17-year career.
“I have never ever regretted, at any stage at any point of my life, playing for Bangladesh,” he said. “I have always been a team man.”
The veteran said the T20 team remains in good hands under skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Mahmudullah’s T20 exit comes soon after star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan announced his decision to quit the format last month during the Test series, which the tourists lost 2-0.
Enjoy the present
India’s left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, meanwhile, said he was making the most of his opportunities in the national team without thinking much about the future.
“My life mantra is to enjoy the present,” Arshdeep, who made his India debut in 2022, told reporters.
“I want to do my best in all the formats wherever I get the opportunity.”
Arshdeep, who has claimed 86 wickets in 55 T20 internationals, played in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in June.