Pacers Rubel, Shafiul say goodbye to first-class cricket

Bangladesh pace bowlers Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam have opted to retire from first-class cricket, according to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Rubel and Shafiul are not interested in playing the longer version of the game anymore, and they want to focus on white-ball cricket now, Minhajul Abedin, the chief selector of the BCB, said Sunday.

According to UNB, the National Cricket League, the biggest first-class cricket event in Bangladesh, will begin in the second week of October. Rubel and Shafiul will not be part of this event.

Rubel played 60 first-class matches, including 27 Tests for Bangladesh. He bagged 97 wickets in longer version of cricket.

Shafiul played 62 first-class matches, including 11 Tests and picked up 164 wickets.