New Delhi. Former Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad has retired from T20 International cricket. The third T20 against India in Hyderabad will be his last T20 International match. However, he will continue playing ODI cricket and perhaps Champions Trophy 2025 may be his last tournament. Mahmudullah had retired from Test cricket in 2021 itself. Announcing his retirement before the second T20 against India in Delhi, Mahmudullah said that this will be my last series and after this I will focus on ODI cricket.
I had decided about this even before coming to India. I also talked to my family, captain, coach, chief selector and board chairman about it. I think this is the right time to move on. I will now focus on ODI matches, whereas if the team has to play the T20 World Cup again in the next two years, the team will focus on that. This 38 year old all-rounder made his debut in international cricket in 2007. He has 2395 runs in 139 T20 matches with the help of eight half-centuries and 40 wickets at an average of 27.35. In Test cricket, he has 2914 runs and 43 wickets in 50 Tests with the help of five centuries and in ODI cricket, he has 5386 runs and 82 wickets in his name with the help of four centuries.
He is one of the rare all-rounders to have scored 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in international cricket. During the 2018 Nidahas Trophy, he scored 43 runs in 18 balls and took his team to the final with one ball to spare. Mahmudullah termed this innings as his best innings. In 2019, Mahmudullah also became the captain of Bangladesh’s T20 team and held this responsibility till the 2021 T20 World. He had to step down from the captaincy after poor performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup. After this he did not get a place in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Mahmudullah is also known for his excellent record in the ODI World Cup and he holds the record of two consecutive centuries in the 2015 World Cup. Overall, he has 944 ODI World Cup runs in 22 innings at an average of 52.44 and three centuries. In terms of runs, he is the second highest run scorer for Bangladesh in T20, fourth highest run scorer in ODI and sixth highest run scorer in Tests.