Mushfiqur Rahim retires from the T20I format

Mushfiqur Rahim (PC: Twitter)

In a drastic turn of events, the experienced keeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim has called time on his T20I career for Bangladesh. 

The 35-year-old will now focus on the ODI and Test format, with him leading up to the latter part of his career. Furthermore, Rahim affirmed his availability for the franchise T20 Leagues. 

Rahim's recent form in the shortest format could not help the team progress in the shortest format. Last year, he was dropped from the T20I squad as well due to his inconsistency. 

The ongoing Asia Cup witnessed Rahim contributing only 5 runs in two innings, which also resulted in Bangladesh's early ouster from the tournament. 

Mushfiqur Rahim's T20I Career

Rahim made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in November 2006. However, it was the 2011-12 period, where he finally cemented his place as a regular keeper-batter in this format. The talented batter then led the national team to eight victories in 23 games until 2014. 

In the 2018 edition of the Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series, Rahim slammed registered his career-best score of 72* against Sri Lanka. However, he could return with only two fifties since then, and went out of favour with the selectors. 

The emergence of another keeper Nurul Hasan also put him under pressure to perform in the recent months. 

In 93 innings, Rahim garnered 1500 runs at an average of 19.48, with six fifties under his belt. 

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