Mahmudullah told his Bangladesh teammates that he is not willing to continue his Test career anymore, ESPNCricinfo reported. The sudden decision came a day after scoring his career-best unbeaten 150 against Zimbabwe in their only Test at Harare Sports Club.
However, Mahmudullah is yet to announce anything on this to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Though, he had a conversation with the media after the close of play on Day 3, where he only spoke about his 191-run ninth-wicket stand with Taskin Ahmed. He did not make any official announcement on social media either.
Nazmul Hassan, BCB president, did not like the idea of Mahmudullah’s decision in a middle of a game. ‘Apparently, he told the dressing room. I think it is highly unusual since the match isn’t even over,’ Hassan was quoted saying by ESPNCricinfo.
‘I think he did it from emotion. Such an announcement will have a negative impact on the team. It is unacceptable. I have no problem if someone doesn’t want to play, but there is no need to create a mess in the middle of a series.’
Since his Test debut in 2009, Mahmudullah has been one of Bangladesh’s most prolific cricketers, though he is mostly known as their white-ball specialist. However, in Tests, he has been dropped twice from the national side in the last four years.
He has played 49 Tests so far, aggregating 2,764 runs at an average of 31.41 and has also taken 43 scalps. His limited-overs record is highly impressive. He featured in ODIs 197 times and compiled 4,410 runs and got 76 wickets. From 89 T20Is, he has 1,505 runs and 31 wickets.