Bangladesh’s experienced campaigner Mahmudullah announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday (March 12). Mahmudullah made the announcement on his social media platforms. The 39-year-old Bangladesh National Cricket Team all-rounder Mahmudullah has announced his retirement from international cricket days after rejecting the central contract for 2025.
Legendary Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah has announced his retirement from international cricket. The 39-year-old had already retired from Tests and T20Is in 2021 and 2024 respectively. The cricketer recently represented the Bangladesh team at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Mahmudullah calls time on his international career
Mahmudullah will go down as one of the senior-most members of the Bangladesh cricket team, having represented the nation in 50 Tests, 239 ODIs and 141 additional T20I matches. The cricketer also aggregated 11,047 runs for Bangladesh across all international formats. The 39-year-old Mahmudullah is the only Bangladesh player to have hit three centuries in ODI World Cups with two of them coming in the 2015 edition and one in 2023. The veteran represented Bangladesh in 239 ODIs, 50 Tests and 141 T20Is.
Incidentally, Mahmudullah also made his international debut with an ODI, doing so with a match against Sri Lanka on Colombo back in July 2007, i.e., shortly after the 2007 ODI World Cup in the West Indies. To date, the 239-match veteran has accrued 5,689 runs to finish as Bangladesh’s fourth highest run-maker in the format after Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.
Recently, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) revealed the central contracts list for the year 2025. A major name missing from the list was of the veteran all-rounder Mahmudullah.
It was later confirmed by a Bangladesh Cricket Board official that the senior player had himself requested the board not to offer him a contract, which was a clear hint that the end of his career was near. Notably, in the proposed central contracts list for 2025, the selection committee kept him in the grade B category and after rejecting the contract, he will be receiving the salary only for January and February.
Meanwhile, there was scrutiny over the place of the veteran all-rounder in the team after his poor performances in recent times. Following the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 disaster of Bangladesh, Mushfiqur Rahim quit ODI cricket and now Mahmudullah has followed the same path.
Overall, the 39-year-old played 50 Tests, 239 ODIs and 141 T20Is for his country, scoring 2914, 5689 and 2444 runs respectively. Also, with the ball, he picked 43 wickets in Tests, 82 wickets in ODIs and 41 wickets in T20Is. He holds the record of being the only Bangladesh player to have hit three centuries in ODI World Cups.
Maintaining an average of 36.46, the right-hander smashed four centuries and 32 half-centuries in the process. He also picked up 82 wickets in the format to emerge as one of the greatest white-ball all-rounders in Bangladesh history.
He recently travelled to Pakistan for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. In his last match played against New Zealand at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Mahmudullah managed to score just four from 14 balls as Bangladesh lost the match by five wickets.
Bangladesh cricket bids farewell to one of its finest all-rounders as Mahmudullah Riyad announces his retirement. With a career spanning nearly two decades, he leaves behind a legacy of resilience, memorable performances, and unmatched dedication to the sport.
I have decided to retire from international cricket- Mahmudullah
Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah has announced his international retirement effective immediately. Having retired from Tests in 2021 and T20Is in 2024, the spin-bowling all-rounder has also quit one-day international cricket, communicating it through a social media post.
Mahmudullah’s last international outing was during the Champions Trophy 2025, where the national team was eliminated in the group stage and finished their campaign winless. The 39-year-old played only against New Zealand and registered a single-figure score before being dismissed by Michael Bracewell. He has also declined a central contract from the BCB.
Taking to Facebook, the former Bangladesh T20I captain credited his family, teammates, and coaches for standing by him through thick and thin, wishing luck to the team for the future:
“All praises only for the Almighty Allah. I have decided to retire from international cricket. I would like to thank all of my teammates, coaches & specially my fans who has always supported me. A big thank you to my parents, my in laws specially my father in law & most importantly my brother Emdad Ullah who has been there for me constantly since my childhood as my coach & mentor.”
“And finally thanks to my wife & kids who have been my support system through thick & thin. I know raeid will miss me in red & green jersey. Not everything comes to an end in a perfect way but you say yes & move forward. PEACE……….. Alhamdulillah. Best wishes to my team & Bangladesh cricket.”
The veteran played in 50 Tests, 239 ODIs, and 114 T20Is from 2009 to 2025. Earlier in March, keeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim had also announced his retirement from ODI cricket; however, he is likely to continue playing the red-ball format. Rahim had an equally disastrous Champions Trophy 2025, managing only two runs in the competition, including a golden duck against Team India.
Bangladesh’s next assignment is in April when they will host Zimbabwe for two Tests. Nonetheless, Mahmudullah left a lasting legacy in Bangladesh’s cricketing lore with his immense contributions on the field over the course of the past 18 years.