Bangladesh's veteran wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim has announced his retirement from T20 Internationals. The announcement came from his official Facebook page on Sunday noon.

Bangladesh batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is known as ‘Mr. Dependable’ for his cool and collective approach to batting in the middle-order. It has been his ability to keep the scoring-rate ticking in the middle overs with soft hands and patient technique that has seen Bangladesh through on many challenging situations.

As there are only two specialist openers in Bangladesh’s 17-member squad for the Asia Cup squad, the Tigers’ team management, according to Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud Sujon, may even opt for Mushfiqur Rahim or skipper Shakib Al Hasan in the opening slot in case of injuries and emergencies. 

After a decent opening stand, Bangladesh lost three quick wickets to see themselves in a precarious situation in the third and final ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club today. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board's desire to reform and start afresh in the T20 format appears to have taken a backseat, with disaster management more of a concern ahead of this month's T20 Asia Cup as the national team's injury list continues to grow.

Arranged by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cricket operations committee, the national team cricketers had a lunch meeting at a hotel in the capital today ahead of their white-ball tour of Zimbabwe later this month. 

There are whispers in the cricketing arena that Mushfiqur Rahim is not happy about the fact that he was rested for the T20I series team on the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, but the move came as the Bangladesh think-tank aim to empower youngsters, expecting them to come out of the shadows and instill their own identity in the shortest format of the game.

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal set his sights firmly on the 2023 World Cup in India, which, in his opinion, could be the final destination for the four seniors in the Bangladesh side, who will likely play their last World Cup together.

Yet another disappointing performance from Bangladesh on Thursday saw the visitors lose the three-match T20I series against the West Indies 2-0 after a five-wicket defeat in the third and final T20I in Guyana.

While there are those who are tempted to abandon their dreams after a major hurdle, the story of Siraj Ullah Khadem illustrates the possibilities that can be found when an individual never stops chasing their dreams despite the cruel twists of fate.

Bangladesh are set to embark on a month-long tour in the West Indies this month to test their skills in all three formats against the home side, once an undisputed powerhouse of the game.

Yasir Ali Chowdhury has shown great potential in his fledgling Test career and the right-hander is expected to play a big role in Bangladesh's middle-order on the tour of the West Indies as he fills a vacancy left by the absence of the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim. The 26-year-old, who will travel to the Caribbean today, spoke to The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin before boarding a flight, discussing his plans and some other topics during an exclusive interview. The excerpts are below:

On the back of a 1-0 defeat in the recently-concluded Test series against Sri Lanka and with a packed schedule ahead of Bangladesh, some of the members of the national team have taken a break ahead of their upcoming West Indies tour next month.

Sri Lanka got the breakthrough they were looking for early on the final day of their series-deciding Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur today.

Bangladesh may not have an impressive Test records in the last 15 Test they played, having won only three matches where two of them came against the lowly ranked Zimbabwe. However, two Bangladesh batters have been exceptional during this period and find themselves on top in two separate lists.

Bangladesh batter Liton Das and Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews have made valuable gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after fine performances in the drawn first match of their ICC World Test Championship series in Chattogram.

Both Shakib and Mushfiqur are 35 and Tamim is 33. Siddons said that his aim was to get the seniors to end their careers on a high.

“He has a deeper understanding of his game and that is making the difference,” Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a long-term mentor to Mushfiqur Rahim, said about one of his favourite students while talking to The Daily Star yesterday.

“I think Sri Lanka are still behind. If we can pick up a few early wickets in the first hour of the [third] day, then we will have the upper hand. The first innings is crucial. If they get close to our total or go past it, then we will be on the back foot. So it will be important to take a first-innings lead,” Liton opined.

Even though Bangladesh lost two early wickets on the second day of their second Test against Sri Lanka in Mirpur today, Mushfiqur Rahim kept on going as the experienced campaigner brought up his 150.