Seasoned Bangladesh cricketer Mahmudullah has decided to hang up his boots on his international 20-over career post the conclusion of the ongoing T20 series against India. The third and final match of the series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad will see Mahmudullah signing off from the shortest format of the game.
The cricketer revealed that he had already planned about this, and also said that the skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and the coaching staff were already aware of the decision, and so was the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president.
“I was pre decided [about retirement] before coming to this series, had a chat with the captain and the coach, and intimated my decision to the BCB president. It’s the right time to move on from this format and try to focus on the ODIs,” he said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
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Loss to India in 2016 World Cup most frustrating moment, says Mahmudullah
Furthermore, the cricketer also revealed that the loss to India at the T20 World Cup in 2016 was the most frustrating moment of his career.
Notably, Mahmudullah was at the crease when two runs were required of as many balls, but the experienced campaigner hit a full-toss ball off Hardik Pandya on the leg side, where Ravindra Jadeja pulled off a miraculous catch. On the last ball, MS Dhoni ran the batter out, and the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was at the top of excitement, as the Men in Blue won the match by a run.
“The most frustrating moment was the loss to India in the 2016 World Cup in Bengaluru. It was a life-changing moment for me and taught me a lot. The best moment came in the Nidahas Trophy.”
A peek into Mahmudullah’s T20I career for Bangladesh
Speaking of Mahmudullah’s long-spanning T20I career, the Mymensingh-born all-rounder has represented the Bangla Tigers in 139 matches, following his debut in September 2007 against Kenya at Nairobi. He is among the top run-scorers for Bangladesh in the format with 2395 runs at an average of 23.48 and a strike rate of 117.74.
He has also been very economical with the ball, giving runs at 7.04 and an average of 27.35, where he took 40 wickets in the format. His career-best performance was 3 for 10.