Mahmudullah, former Bangladesh captain, to retire from T20Is following final match against India in Hyderabad.

Mahmudullah, the former captain of Bangladesh, has decided to retire from T20Is and has confirmed that the third match of the current series against India will be his final appearance in the shortest format. Mahmudullah began his T20I career in 2007 against Kenya and has since scored 2,395 runs at a strike rate of 117.74. He has also taken 40 wickets in the 139 T20Is he has participated in.

Mahmudullah announced the big decision ahead of the second T20I match against India at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.

The 38-year-old asserted that he had already decided to bid adieu to the shortest format before the start of the series, as he will now shift his focus completely to ODIs.

"I am retiring from T20I cricket after the last game of this series. I was pre-decided before coming here," Mahmudullah said. "I had a chat with my family. I spoke to the coach [Chandika Hathurusinghe], captain [Najmul Hossain Shanto], chief selector [Gazi Ashraf Hossain] and the board president [Faruque Ahmed] as well. I think it is the right time to move on from this format for me and the team. Especially with the World Cup coming up in less than two years. I will concentrate on the one-day game," he told reporters on the eve of the 2nd T20I against India.

The final match between India and Bangladesh will be played in Hyderabad on Saturday. He had a forgettable outing in the first T20I where Indian debutant Mayank Yadav got the better of him for just 1.

The former Bangladesh T20 captain had called time on his Test career in 2021.

He also talked about the highs and lows of his career as he referred to the 2016 T20 World Cup loss to India on the last ball as the most frustrating moment of his career. Meanwhile, playing a 43-run knock off 18 balls against Sri Lanka to help Bangladesh reach the final of the Nidhas Trophy 2024 was chosen as his favourite moment from T20I career.

"The most frustrating moment was the loss to India in the 2016 World Cup in Bengaluru. It was a life-changing moment for me, and taught me a lot. The best moment came in the Nidahas Trophy," he added.