Mahmudullah Riyad has announced his retirement from international cricket. He is 39 years old. He made the announcement on Wednesday through a social media post on Facebook.
In his retirement message, Mahmudullah thanked everyone. He said, “All praise is for the Almighty Allah. I have decided to retire from international cricket.” He also wrote, “Everything does not end perfectly, yet sometimes it is time to move forward. Peace…Alhamdulillah.”
This news comes just one week after Mushfiqur Rahim announced his retirement from ODIs.
Mahmudullah Riyad made his international debut in 2007. It was an ODI match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. His last international match was also an ODI. He played against New Zealand in Rawalpindi on February 24, 2025, in the Champions Trophy.
Earlier, Mahmudullah had retired from Test and T20I cricket. He retired from Test cricket in 2021 after playing against Zimbabwe in Harare. His T20I retirement was in October 2024 after a match against India in Hyderabad.
Mahmudullah played a total of 430 international matches across all formats. He played 239 ODIs. This is the third highest for Bangladesh after Mushfiqur Rahim (470) and Shakib Al Hasan (447).
There was much discussion about his retirement last month during the Champions Trophy. He faced criticism for his innings of 4 runs off 14 balls against New Zealand in Rawalpindi. However, he remained silent about retirement at that time.
On March 10, 2025, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the list of contracted players for the year. Mahmudullah’s name was not on the list. BCB mentioned that Mahmudullah had requested not to be included in the contract from March.
Two days later, Mahmudullah announced his retirement on social media.
In his thank you message, Mahmudullah specially mentioned his parents, father-in-law, and brother Emdad Ullah. He also thanked his wife and children for their support during difficult times.
He concluded his post by saying, “Peace…”, indicating his readiness to move on.
Mahmudullah Riyad’s International Cricket Career
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | Centuries/Fifties | Wickets |
| Test | 50 | 2914 | 33.49 | 5/16 | 43 |
| ODI | 239 | 5689 | 36.46 | 4/32 | 82 |
| T20I | 141 | 2444 | 23.50 | 0/8 | 41 |
From 2007 to 2025, Mahmudullah played international cricket for 18 years. In 239 ODIs, he scored 5689 runs with 4 centuries and 32 fifties. All his ODI centuries came in ICC tournaments.
He also scored 2914 runs in 50 Tests with 5 centuries and 2444 runs in 141 T20Is with a strike rate of 117.38.
Mahmudullah captained Bangladesh in 43 T20Is between 2018 and 2022. This included the 2021 T20 World Cup. He also led in 6 Test matches as captain.