Fortune Barisal chased down 150-odd in the second qualifier of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) to make it to the final of the tournament. Mushfiqur Rahim played a crucial role in the chase scoring an unbeaten 47 off 38 balls to propel his side over the line against the favourites Rangpur Riders. He is also the fifth highest run-getter of the season having amassed 367 runs at a strike-rate of 123.56 so far. But Rahim is already retired from T20Is and when asked if he is regretting his decision, the reply was a blunt 'no'.
Moreover, Rahim sparked a controversy with his statement hinting that he announced retirement from the shortest format against his wish. "No (regrets). You are saying this (my game sense and performance is good) after I played well, no one said that before. I just want to ask one question? Did I retire from T20Is on my own wish? Just look at the month before when I retired in T20s and I don't have anything else to say," Rahim said after the match.
Meanwhile, three veterans of Bangladesh cricket - Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah - are part of the Fortune Barisal and many had criticised the team's move to pick only experienced players in the side. But according to Rahim, the thinking that T20 cricket is only made for youngsters is wrong and that the experience has to be valued always.
"At the start of the tournament everyone said Barisal is a team of old guys and T20 cannot be played with experience. But here we are. This concept is very wrong and experiences have value in every format. It does not motivate me (being criticized for my age) and I feel bad about it. Even today if you bring lot of young players in front of me, I am sure they will not get near me with respect to fitness. How will you give criterion to fitness whether it is age and performance? I feel it should be fitness and performance considering age is just a number otherwise player's like Jimmy Anderson would have been rare.
"I don't play to prove anything to anyone and those who have picked me, I am thankful to them, like Tamim and owner of Barisal. I want to repay their faith through my performance," Rahim added. For the unversed, Mushfiqur Rahim retired from the shortest format back in September 2022 following the conclusion of the Asia Cup and just before T20 World Cup in Australia.
