Bangladesh ODI legend suddenly retires after CT 2025 embarrassment

The 37-year-old Bangladesh National Cricket Team star wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mushfiqur Rahim has officially announced his retirement from ODI cricket.

Mushfiqur Rahim made the announcement of him leaving ODI cricket public on Wednesday, March 5, via his official Facebook handle.

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Mushfiqur Rahim retires after ICC Champions Trophy 2025 humiliation

The decision to walk away from ODI cricket was made by Rahim after the Bangladesh National Cricket Team faced an early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 after delivering poor performances.

Under the leadership of Najmul Hossain Shanto, the Asian team lost their tournament opener in Dubai against the India National Cricket Team by 6 wickets.

Then, in their second match, the Tigers were decimated by the New Zealand National Cricket Team that confirmed their exit from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Bangladesh's last match was against the hosts Pakistan National Cricket Team, but that game got washed out due to continuous rain and both the Tigers and the Men In Green finished winless in the group stage.

Mushfiqur Rahim had a tough time in the competition with the bat as he bagged a golden duck against Rohit Sharma-led side and scored just 2 against Mitchell Santner & Co.

Mushfiqur Rahim ends his career as the most-capped Bangladesh ODI cricketer

Rahim has ended his ODI career as the most-capped Bangladesh player in history with 274 matches under his belt. In those matches, he scored 7795 runs at an average of 36.42, with nine hundreds and 49 fifties, which makes him Bangladesh's second-highest ODI run-getter.

Overall, Mushfiqur Rahim had a great career in 50-over cricket. After replacing Khaled Mashud in the line-up during the World Cup 2007, he instantly made the mark by scoring a fifty in the famous victory against India in Trinidad.

Very quickly, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman sealed a place in the Bangladesh middle-order and remained there for almost two decades, while holding the record for most consecutive ODIs for Bangladesh - 92 matches between 2010 and 2016.

Meanwhile, in recent times, Rahim faced criticism for not scoring well, and injuries didn't help his cause either, with his last ODI half-century coming against Sri Lanka in March 2024.

The last few weeks have been very challenging for me - Mushfiqur Rahim

In his retirement announcement post, Mushfiqur Rahim stated that he gave his all for Bangladesh every time he stepped on the field. He added that after facing a challenging time, he made the decision to retire and thanked his friends and family for their support.

"I am announcing my retirement from the ODI format as of today. Alhamdulillah for everything. While our achivements may have been limited on a global level, one thing is certain: whenever I stepped onto the field for my country, I gave more than 100% with dedication and honesty," Mushfiqur posted in is official Facebook page.

"The last few weeks have been very challenging for me, and I have come to realize that this is my destiny. Allah says in the Quran: "Wa tu'izzu man tasha' wa tu'zhilu man tasha'" [And He honours whom He wills, and He disgraces whom He wills](3:26). May Almighty Allah forgive us and grant righteous Iman to all," he said.

"Lastly, I would like to deeply thank my family, friends and my fans for whom I have played cricket for the last 19 years."

Notably, Mushfiqur Rahim had already quit T20I cricket after the T20 World Cup 2022 but will continue to play Test cricket for the country with an eye on playing 100 matches in the purest format of the game as he is currently on 94 Tests.