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Mahmudullah Riyad’s 17-year-long T20I career has come to an end, as the right-handed allrounder announced his retirement from the format on Tuesday ahead of the second match of the three-match T20I series against India.
Earlier in this series, Shakib Al Hasan also retired from T20Is. While Mahmudullah is playing in the T20I series against India, Shakib opted out beforehand, having played his last T20I during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies.
“I think this is the right time for me,” Mahmudullah said during a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday. “The captain and coach already knew. I believe we should start preparing for the next World Cup.”
Bangladesh is currently in the midst of a three-match T20I series against India. Before the second match, which will be held on October 9 in Delhi, Mahmudullah announced that he would retire after the final match of the series on October 12 in Hyderabad.
Mahmudullah previously retired from Tests in 2021 during a series in Zimbabwe. Now, three years later, he bids farewell to another format of international cricket, although he intends to continue playing ODIs for Bangladesh.
Mahmudullah earned his T20I cap in 2007 against Kenya in Nairobi and has been a mainstay in Bangladesh’s T20I lineup ever since.
A right-handed batter and a reliable off-spinner, he has played 139 T20I matches, scoring 2,395 runs and claiming 40 wickets. Known for his ability to finish innings with powerful hits, he earned the title of “finisher,” though he has been experiencing a prolonged slump over the past few years.
Mahmudullah has recorded eight fifties in T20Is. Among his most memorable innings was his match-winning six against Sri Lanka in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy, which propelled Bangladesh into the final.
He has appeared in eight editions of the ICC T20 World Cup, playing 37 matches, scoring 458 runs, and taking nine wickets.