Mahmudullah announces retirement from T20Is before 2nd match against India

Veteran Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah has brought down the curtains on his illustrious T20I career. The right-handed batsman announced his decision to retire from T20Is on Tuesday (October 8).

Addressing the media ahead of the second T20I against Team India, Mahmudullah announced that he would retire from the shortest format of the game after the conclusion of the ongoing three-match series. He has been one of the longest-serving cricketers for Bangladesh in T20Is.

🚨 OFFICIAL: Mahmudullah announced his T20I retirement.

Photo: Cricket97 pic.twitter.com/5eKJD9eLxq

— Saif Ahmed (@saifahmed75) October 8, 2024

The 38-year-old made his T20I debut way back in 2007 against Kenya and has been an integral member of the team for the better part of his career. He has the third-longest career in T20Is after his compatriot Shakib Al Hasan and Zimbabwe's Sean Williamson.

Mahmudullah's career in numbers:

Mahmudullah is one of Bangladesh's most decorated players in the shortest format of the game. No player from Bangladesh has played more T20Is than him while only one player has scored more runs than him in the format.

The right-handed batsman has played 139 T20Is so far and has scored 2395 runs with the help of eight half-centuries. Only Shakib Al Hasan has scored more runs than him in T20Is for Bangladesh. A handy spinner, Mahmudullah has also taken 40 wickets in T20Is.

His position in the T20I team has been under the scanner for quite some time now. There were calls from several quarters to drop him from the T20I side after his poor display in this year's T20 World Cup where he scored only 95 runs in 7 games.

Before the start of the ongoing India vs Bangladesh T20I series, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hinted that Mahmudullah is likely to retire from the format soon. Shanto stated that the team would take a new approach in T20Is and indirectly stated that the senior batter was likely to hang up his boots.

Earlier in 2021, Mahmudullah had announced his retirement from Tests too. He is likely to continue playing ODIs for the Tigers. In the 2023 World Cup, he was Bangladesh's highest run-scorer and is unlikely to retire from the format soon.