Bangladesh veteran all-rounder Mahmudullah has announced that he will be retiring from the T20Is after the completion of the ongoing India series. The veteran has been a long-serving player for the Bangla Tigers after making his debut in 2007.
Mahmudullah has reportedly confirmed that the ongoing series against India will be his last in the format. He featured in the first T20I against India on October 6 at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior but could make only one run before falling to the debutant Mayank Yadav.
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 retired from Tests in 2021 and was dropped from T20Is in the latter part of 2022 and did not play a single game in the format in 2023. He made a return to T20Is in 2024 with a strong 54 against Sri Lanka in Sylhet.
He had taken his game several notches up as a power hitter in 2016. "Back in 2016, there was a T20 World Cup in India. Before that, we had a training camp in Khulna. I changed my batting approach from that camp," Mahmudullah said. "I had to bat at No. 6 or 7, so I decided to change my approach and style. It was the team's finisher role. It was a very tricky place to bat. Not always you could finish the game. People would usually highlight the ones you didn't finish, rather than the ones you were there for. But it is part and parcel of this game," the veteran said on his change in playing approach.
Mahmudullah has played in 139 T20Is, hitting 2395 runs and picking 40 wickets in his 17-year-long career. He is the second-highest run-scorer for the Bangla Tigers in the format, behind Shakib Al Hasan.
