Bangladesh cricketer Mahmudullah to retire from T20Is after India series

Bangladesh cricketer Mahmudullah to retire from T20Is after India series

Bangladesh's veteran all-rounder Mahmudullah has announced his retirement from T20 International (T20I) cricket. His final appearance in the format will be during the ongoing series against India, with his last game scheduled for October 12, 2024, in Hyderabad. At 38, Mahmudullah made this decision to focus on One-Day Internationals (ODIs), especially with the upcoming ODI World Cup in mind.

Mahmudullah has had a remarkable T20I career, playing 139 matches and scoring 2,395 runs, making him Bangladesh's second-highest run-scorer in T20Is. He has also taken 40 wickets in the format. He mentioned that his decision to retire was "pre-decided" after discussions with his family, coaches, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board​

This marks the end of a significant chapter in his career, following his earlier retirement from Test cricket in 2021.
Bangladesh's long-serving all-rounder Mahmudullah has announced that he will retire from T20Is after the three-match series against India. The 38-year-old appeared in the format in 2007 against Kenya, the third longest T20I career, after his teammate Shakib Al Hasan and Zimbabwe's Sean Williams, of 17 years and 35 days.

Mahumudullah had previously retired from Tests in 2021 however shall continue to feature in ODIs, being the leading run-scorer for Bangladesh in the 2023 Men's World Cup in India with 328 runs.

Mahmudullah follows Shakib who had announced his T20I retirement from immediate impact during the second Test in Kanpur. Mahmudullah mentioned that he had made up his psyche to retire following the India series and might want to concentrate on ODIs after a successful World Cup last year at a personal level, ahead of the three-match ODI series in the West Indies in December and the Champions Prize in 2025.

"First of all, yes I'm resigning from the T20I cricket after the last game of this series. Actually I was really settled prior to coming here. I had talked with my family, captain and coach. And with the selector and the board president as well that I'm resigning from this format. I believe it's perfect opportunity to continue on from this format and attempt to focus on the ODIs that's coming ahead. I think proceeding, it is the perfect opportunity for myself and the team as well to anticipate the following world cup. I think this is the perfect opportunity to call."

Pondering his career, he named the 2016 T20 World Cup defeat to India the most frustrating second and listed the Nidahas Prize in 2018 as his most favorite second. He had scored 43 off 18 balls as Bangladesh pipped hosts Sri Lanka to the final despite proceeding to lose the final. Mahmudullah had a strike-rate of 157.38 during the competition.

"Most frustrating second was in Bangalore 2016 against India. Probably one of the most extraordinary moments for me because that was a major learning bend for me. And great second probably in Nidahas Prize (2018) the match that we won against Sri Lanka."

Mahmudullah has scored 2,395 runs at a strike-rate of 117.74 and 40 wickets in 139 T20Is games played.