BAN Veteran All-Rounder Retires From International Cricket After T20 WC Debacle

 Mahmudullah Riyad retires from international cricket after 17 years (X.com)

In a major turn of events in Bangladesh cricket, veteran all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad formally announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket following BAN’s exit from the Super 8 stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh suffered a cruel 8-run defeat against Afghanistan in the final Super 8 game of the 2024 T20 World Cup in what turned out to be a historic matchup for AFG as they entered their maiden semi-final of an ICC tournament. 

Meanwhile, BAN also had an outside chance to jump Afghanistan and Australia to make it to the semis with just one win. But they failed to convert it and had to pack their bags at Kingstown itself. 

Mahmudullah retires from international cricket

That being said, following the world cup exit, Bangladesh veteran Mahmudullah Riyad had decided to call it quits on his 17-year-long international career. Having made his debut in 2007 against Sri Lanka, Mahmudullah played 50 Tests, 232 ODIs and 138 T20Is for Bangladesh, accumulating over 10,000 runs across all formats and taking more than 150 wickets.

One of Mahmudullah’s most memorable achievements was scoring back-to-back centuries in the 2015 ICC ODI Cricket World Cup, leading Bangladesh to the quarter-finals for the first time. His innings of 103 against England and 128* against New Zealand were instrumental in Bangladesh’s historic campaign.

Mahmudullah also served as the captain of the T20I team. His leadership was evident during the Nidahas Trophy held in 2018, where he played a crucial role in taking Bangladesh to the final with a last-ball six against Sri Lanka.

However, the 38-year-old has shown signs of slowing down in recent times, and hence, the T20 World Cup served as the best opportunity for him to step aside.