Mahmudullah finishes as Bangladesh’s fourth-highest run-getter, behind Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, with 5689 runs at an average of 36.46, including four hundreds and 32 fifties. His retirement comes a week after Mushfiqur, his long-time team-mate and brother in law, had also retired from ODIs.

On Monday, when the BCB informed in its press release that Mahmudullah had requested that the board not consider him in the central contracts list after February 2025, it was seen as a sign of impending retirement.

All of Mahmudullah’s centuries came in ICC tournaments. After scoring two hundreds in the 2015 ODI World Cup, he made an unbeaten 102 against New Zealand in the 2017 Champions Trophy in Cardiff.  More recently, in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, he scored 111 against South Africa in Mumbai.

The ODI retirements of Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur come after Bangladesh suffered an early exit in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Mahmudullah played just one innings, managing 4 off 14 balls against New Zealand in Rawalpindi. Mahmudullah’s form in the lead-up to the tournament, though, was excellent: he had scored four ODI fifties in a row, against Afghanistan and West Indies, away from home late last year.

Mahmudullah made his ODI debut in 2007 as a utility player, batting mostly at No. 7 and bowling offspin. His first turning point came in the 2011 World Cup agsinst England, when he added an unbroken 58 for the ninth wicket with Shafiul Islam to guide Bangladesh to a two-wicket win. In the following year, his unbeaten fifties helped Bangladesh to a 3-2 ODI series win against West Indies.

He enjoyed more success in the 2015 World Cup, when he struck centuries against England and New Zealand in successive matches while batting at No. 3. His hundred against New Zealand in the 2017 Champions Trophy, in a 223-run stand with Shakib, is an iconic innings in Bangladesh cricket history.

Mahmudullah made a comeback ahead of the 2023 World Cup after he had been dropped from the side. He also proved his value with the ball, taking 82 wickets at an economy rate of 5.21. Mahmudullah never led Bangladesh in ODIs, though he had captained them in T20Is and Test cricket.

Mahmudullah’s retirement brings the curtain down on Bangladesh’s most successful quintet of cricketers who played between 2006 and 2025 in white-ball cricket.

Apart from Mahmudullah, Tamim reconfirmed his retirement from international cricket earlier this year. Shakib had announced his Test and T20I retirement in India last year, while also informing at the time that the Champions Trophy would be his last ODI assignment. Having missed the tournament due to various reasons, his ODI career now seems finished, too.

Mashrafe Mortaza last played ODIs in 2020, when he also signed off from captaincy. Mushfiqur has retired from ODIs and T20Is, but is in line to become the first Bangladesh cricketer to reach the 100-Test landmark.

[Cricinfo]