Mushfiqur retires from T20s

Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has announced that he is retiring from T20 International cricket, report agencies.

A long-term veteran of the Tigers' campaigns, Mushfiq said he will continue to play in other formats.

He made the announcement in a post on his official Facebook page on Sunday. His decision comes soon after Bangladesh's exit from the ongoing Asia Cup, where they lost both first-round games to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

"Today, I am announcing my retirement from T20 internationals," Mushfiqur, 35, said in statement on his verified Facebook page on Sunday.

"I will proudly continue to represent Bangladesh in Test and ODI formats. I am hopeful that I can bring success for our nation in these two formats," he added.

"I will continue to take part in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and other franchise tournaments," he said.

He also expressed his gratitude to his fans and supporters for inspiring him at his highs and his lows.

From 2006-2002, Mushfiq played 102 T20 matches. He scored 1,500 runs in the format, with an average of 19.48 runs per game. He supported the team with six half-centuries in 93 innings.

Mushfiqur got his T20 cap in 2006 against Zimbabwe. The match was the first-ever T20 for both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. He was among only the three players who have played at least 100 T20s for Bangladesh.

With Mushfiqur now retired, Shakib Al Hasan is now the only Bangladeshi player from Bangladesh's maiden T20 who is still active in the format at the international level.

The right-handed batter has some wonderful innings in T20s, but he was never as consistent in T20Is as he is in ODIs and Tests. His best innings in T20Is is an unbeaten 72 off 35 balls against Sri Lanka in Colombo. At the same venue, he scored another unbeaten 72 off 55 balls against India. Both the innings were notched up in 2018.

"I will continue to take part in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and other franchise tournaments. Alhamdulillah. Thank you all. Allah Hafez," Mushfiuqr added in this retirement announcement.

Mushfiqur also led Bangladesh in 23 T20s and won eight of them. He was Bangladesh's captain in two T20 World Cups- in 2012 and in 2014 with the latter was host by Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh contingent will be leaving later this month to play in a T20 tri-series against New Zealand and Pakistan in New Zealand, with the same squad expected to be announced for the T20 World Cup in Australia next month.

Mushfiqur has endured a poor run of form in T20Is for nearly three years now, having scored only two half-centuries since November 2019. At last year's T20 World Cup, he made 144 runs in eight innings, at a strike rate of 113.38. He was "rested" for the T20I series against Pakistan that followed. However, he had claimed that he was dropped, after which he was summoned to a meeting by the BCB.