“I would like to announce my retirement”: Mushfiqur Rahim retires from T20I cricket after a disappointing Asia Cup 2022 campaign

Bangladesh wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim has announced his retirement from T20I cricket after a miserable Asia Cup 2022 campaign.

Asia Cup 2022 was not an ideal one for Bangladesh, and they could not qualify for the Super-4 stages of the tournament. They were placed alongside Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Group B, but they failed to win a single match in the tournament.

All the experienced players of the Bangladesh side flopped in the Asia Cup 2022, which included players like Shakib al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim etc. Ahead of the Asia Cup 2022, the team lost both ODI and T20I series against Zimbabwe. This performance of Bangladesh has been heavily criticized.

Mushfiqur Rahim announced T20I retirement

Bangladesh’s wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim has announced his retirement from the T20I format to focus on ODI and Test cricket. Rahim had a poor run in the recent Asia Cup for Bangladesh, where he managed to score just 5 runs in two innings. He has set his eyes on next year’s World Cup in India.

“I would like to announce my retirement from T20 INTERNATIONALS and focus on Test and ODI formats of the game. I will be available to play franchise leagues when the opportunity arrives. Looking forward to proudly represent my nation in the two formats-MR15,” Mushfiqur Rahim tweeted.

If reports are to be believed, Rahim was set to be dropped from Bangladesh’s world cup squad due to his poor run of forms. The experienced batter has scored just a couple of T20I half-centuries since November 2019. Recently, Tamim Iqbal also announced his retirement from T20I cricket.

Rahim has scored 1500 T20I runs in 102 T20Is at an average of 19.48. However, his ODI and Test records speak volumes about Rahim’s contribution to Bangladesh cricket. He has scored 6774 ODI runs, whereas he also has 5235 test runs under his belt. The Bangladesh T20I side will definitely go under transition now.