Mahmudullah retires from Test cricket after scoring 150 runs against Zimbabwe: Reports

Bangladesh cricketer Mahmudullah has shocked his teammates amid the ongoing Test match against Zimbabwe by announcing his retirement from the longest format of the game. Mahmudullah returned to the Test side after a gap of 18 months, having last played against Pakistan in Rawalpindi last year. He was a last-minute addition to the side after being picked up as a cover picked as cover after Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim who were injured during last month's Dhaka Premier League T20s. 

Mahmudullah retires from Test cricket: Report

According to Espncricinfo, Mahmudullah announced retirement shortly after the end of the third day's play of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Harare. However, the cricketer did not say anything regarding his decision on the BCB's video to the media after the day's play, or neither the official announcement was made on his Twitter handle. He is yet to answer the publication's request to comment on his retirement news.

The ongoing Test match against Zimbabwe is his 50th match in the format, and the cricketer made it memorable by scoring his fifth Test century. He finished the 1st innings unbeaten on 150, as well stitched 191-run ninth-wicket partnership with Taskin Ahmed after Bangladesh had slipped to 270 for 8. The news about Mahmudullah retired did not go down well with Bangladesh Cricket Board chairman Nazmul Hassan, who criticised the player by saying that the announcement in the middle of a match would negatively affect the team. He called the decision unusual, unacceptable, and totally based on emotion.

Hassan while speaking to Bengali daily Prothom Alo said that he has not been informed officially on Mahmadullah's retirement from Test cricket, however, someone called him on the phone and said he doesn't want to play Tests anymore. He added that the cricketer speaking about his retirement to the dressing room in the middle of the match is highly unusual since the match isn't even over. The chairman further said that the decision was taken emotionally and such an announcement is unacceptable as it will have a negative impact on the team. Hassan concluded by saying that he has no problem if someone doesn't want to play, but there is no need to create a mess in the middle of a series.

Mahmudullah career so far 

Mahmudullah played cricket for Bangladesh in all three formats till 2017 following his debut in 2009. The last four years saw the middle-order batsman dropped twice from the Test team. The cricketer has been the captain of Bangladesh's team since 2019 in white-ball format. After having played 197 ODIs and 89 T20Is, he was then given a white-ball central contract for 2020. 

(Image credit: AP)