Long silence for Mahmudullah

Mahmudullah, the Twenty20 captain of the Bangladesh national team, will be out of cricketing action for a while as his team Mohammedan Sporting Club failed to qualify for the super league stage of the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League.

Known as the ‘Silent Killer’ among the fans for his style of play, Mahmudullah might remain silent for the next couple of months as the all-rounder has retired from Tests as well.

The DPL will run till April 28, or maybe stretched to 29th as that’s the reserve day for the final round of fixtures in Super League, but as Mohammedan will not be taking part, Mahmudullah will be a mere watcher.

He might find himself unlucky as he is the only big name to miss out. Mohammedan formed a strong team with players like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Mahmudullah, but the black and whites failed to reach the super league.

Shakib missed out on the Test series against South Africa due to a family emergency, and for the same reason, he did not appear for Mohammedan. Now he will play for Legends of Rupganj.

Mushfiq and Miraz played the Test series and came back to Bangladesh, but by that time, Mohammedan were out, so the club released them, and they will play for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club.

But Mahmudullah, who was part of the ODI series only, had to come back. He played seven matches for Mohammedan, where his side won three and lost four.

Despite having cricketers like Mohammad Hafeez and a good collection of local players, Mohammedan failed to qualify, despite being one of the favourites.

Now Mahmudullah will have a break of almost two months before his chance in the One-Day International and T20I series against West Indies in June-July.

After the DPL, national team cricketers will be busy playing the Test series against Sri Lanka. The selectors might try out some potential cricketers in the two-day match ahead of the series, but obviously, Mahmudullah is none of them as he has retired.

The national team is supposed to fly for the Caribbeans on June 6. The cricketers, part of only the white-ball contract and still playing in the DPL, will get time to rejuvenate after the end of the league, but for Mahmudullah the wait could be too long.

It could be a great opportunity for Mahmudullah to sharpen his skills during the long break as his performance on the international scene has not been up to the mark recently.

Mahmudullah is renowned for recovering his team from debacles, which he demonstrated several times, but in recent times, he has been failing to do so.

The first ODI against Afghanistan had the perfect scenario for him to build the innings after the failure of the top-order, but he only managed eight runs before getting out to Rashid Khan.

In the third ODI of the series, his batting approach was also questioned as he was putting the tail-enders to face maximum deliveries in an over when he was the last recognised batsman.

In the South Africa series, he did not have much to do but still, he could offer much more support to Afif Hossain during the second ODI, where the youngster played a mature knock while the experienced ones faltered.

After coming back, Mahmudullah scored 230 runs in his seven matches played for Mohammedan, managing only one half-century. The black and whites also missed his bowling as he bowled only five overs in the entire league without a wicket.

Despite the poor performances, Mahmudullah must be very angry with himself as he kicked the door of the dressing room while returning after getting out against Rupganj Tigers on April 9. The long break could help him to reorganise himself both on and off the field.