|| CF DESK ||

Since Mahmudullah Riyad's unexpected retirement from Test cricket during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe last month, there has been a lot of talk. Although no formal announcement has been made, it is safe to assume that the T20I captain has ended his Test career.

Both Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Mahmudullah have remained silent on the subject. When asked if he would announce his Test retirement on Monday’s pre-match virtual conference of Australia-Bangladesh T20I series, Mahmudullah said he would wait till the Australia series conclusion before speaking about it.

"I want to make one thing clear that only the upcoming series in my thoughts right now. Maybe I will be able to give you details regarding this issue soon," the T20 captain said with a smile during the press conference.

After Mahmudullah informed his teammates about his decision midway through the Zimbabwe Test, Bangladesh players gave him a guard of honour on the final day of the match, where he played a 150-run unbeaten innings in his 50^th Test match. In the T20I series, he led his team to a 2-1 victory over Zimbabwe.

From Mahmdullah’s Test debut in 2009, Mahmudullah was an all-format player till 2017, but he has been dropped twice from the Test team in the previous four years. Last year, he was dropped after poor performances against Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan in the 2019-20 season.