Home ›› 05 Sep 2022 ›› Sport
Mushfiqur Rahim, after his uninspiring show at the 2022 Asia Cup where Bangladesh were knocked out of the group stage, has announced his retirement from Twenty20 Internationals and through that, has made the job of the Bangladesh national team selectors easier.
Mushfiq announced his retirement through a post on his official Facebook page on Sunday.
“I have been grateful to have you all beside me throughout my long career. Your support has been my inspiration during my highs and lows.
“Today, I am announcing my retirement from T20 Internationals. 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 wrote on his official Facebook page.
Mushfiq’s retirement from the format has not just taken him away from a format in which he was struggling, but also allowed the selectors one less tough decision.
Mushfiq has struggled in T20Is for the last three years, and the last Asia Cup was the epitome of that. He scored only five runs in the two matches, but his role with the gloves let him down even more in the Tigers’ do-or-die clash against the Lankans.
Mushfiq first dropped Kushal Mendis, who went on to score 60 and bag the player of the match award, on two, and then did not allow the team to take a review against the same batsman because he didn’t hear the edge.
But considering Mushfiq’s record in the last three years, his retirement or axing was long overdue.
While Mushfiq has a couple of match-winning knocks for Bangladesh, his overall record in T20Is is dismal. He has 1500 runs in T20Is from 102 matches but possesses the lowest strike rate and average among the players to have crossed 1500 runs in the format.
46 batsmen have scored 1500 runs in the format, and none have an average lower than Mushfiq’s 19.48. His strike rate of 115.03 is also the lowest among the 46 batsmen going past the 1500-run mark.
Since the start of 2020, Mushfiq has played 17 innings in T20Is, scoring only 235 runs with an average of 16.78. His strike rate of 96.31 is nowhere near acceptable in the format, and it came with only one fifty.
In the last year or so, Mushfiq saw the team management lose trust in his wicketkeeping too. After he could not play in the T20I series against Australia, he was not returned the gloves immediately against New Zealand as then head coach Russell Domingo opted for a split role. But Mushfiq did not accept, and Nurul Hasan Sohan continued as the skipper, and only after Nurul’s injury, Mushfiq got the gloves back.
Except for this, Mushfiq has also been in a bad light to the general fans with his various comments in press conferences and on social media, such as asking fans to look in the mirror and inciting posts regarding working hard.
All-in-all and after his recent performances, it would have been difficult for the selectors to pick him for the World Cup in Australia, but Mushfiq made their job easier with his decision.
Despite Mushfiq announcing his retirement, BCB is yet to accept his decision.
“We have received an e-mail in which he (Mushfiq) said he wants to retire from T20Is. We are yet to tell him whether we have accepted his decision. We have to discuss this. We will surely miss him at the World Cup as he was among the 20 players selected for the tournament,” BCB’s Cricket Operations Chairman Jalal Yunus told the media on Sunday.
Mushfiq’s overall record may be dismal, but he has a couple of impressive knocks in his 16-year-long T20I career.
In 2018, his unbeaten 72 runs off 35 balls helped Bangladesh chase down 215 against Sri Lanka in the Nidahas trophy, their record chase in the format.
In 2019, his unbeaten knock of 60 runs off 43 deliveries allowed Bangladesh to defeat India for the first and only time in India.
