The WK Batter Mushfiqur Rahim has hinted that his T20I retirement was against his wish creating a controversy.
Mushfiqur Rahim Ignites Controversy on His T20I Requirement
The 36-year-old batter Mushfiqur smashed an unbeaten 47 runs off 38 deliveries to help Fortune Barisal advance to the finals.
Barisal chased down the target in the second qualifier of the BPL 2024 schedule against Rangpur Riders. The player had a crucial role in the chase to help the side to lead the side to victory.
He stands fifth for amassing the most runs in the season after amassing 367 runs with a strike rate of 123.56 so far. But Rahim is already retired from T20I and when asked about his decision, the reply has raised quite eyebrows.
“No (regrets),” he said. “You are saying this (my game sense and performance are good) after I played well, no one said that before,” he added.
“I just want to ask one question? Did I retire from T20Is on my own wish? Just look at the month before when I retired in T20s and I don’t have anything else to say,” he said.
“At the start of the tournament, everyone said Barisal is a team of old guys and T20 cannot be played with experience. But here we are. This concept is very wrong and experiences have value in every format,” Mushfiqur said.
“It does not motivate me (being criticized for my age) and I feel bad about it. Even today if you bring a lot of young players in front of me, I am sure they will not get near me with respect to fitness,” he added.
“How will you give a criterion to fitness whether it is age and performance? I feel it should be fitness and performance considering age is just a number otherwise players like Jimmy Anderson would have been rare.
“I don’t play to prove anything to anyone and those who have picked me, I am thankful to them, like Tamim and the owner of Barisal. I want to repay their faith through my performance,” he added.
Rahim played 102 T20Is amassing 1500 runs with a high score of 72* runs. His last appearance in the format was during the group stage match against Sri Lanka in the T20 Asia Cup 2022.
Mushfiqur Rahim retired from the T20 format back in September 2022 after the conclusion of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
