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Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder, Mahmudullah on Tuesday, October 8 confirmed his future in the national side. Speaking on the eve of the second T20I of the three-match series against India, Mahmudullah announced retirement, adding that the ongoing series will be his last in the shortest format of the game.
The 38-year-old made his debut in T20Is in 2007 in a series against Kenya and has had the third longest career in T20Is after teammate and veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams. His T20I career has spanned over 17 years and 35 days.
Mahmudullah to play his last T20I on October 12 in Hyderabad
The veteran cricketer, who has been preparing to hang his boots from the shortest format since long now, his call comes after Shakib Al Hasan announced retirement from the shortest format with immediate effect on the eve of the second Test against India in Kanpur. The stalwart also added that his final Test match for the Bangla Tigers will come against South Africa in Mirpur.
However, an official statement of Mahmudullah is still awaited, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official was quoted as saying by The Daily Star, “It’s not a break, he wants to bring an end to the T20I chapter. He is supposed to announce it in this series.”
Speaking of his career, the 38-year-old retired from Tests in 2021, but will continue to feature in the ODIs after finishing as their highest run-scorer in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The veteran all-rounder has scored 2,395 runs so far in 139 T20Is at an average of 23.48 and strike rate of 117.74.
