Another star cricketer follows Steve Smith in announcing ODI retirement, leaving ICC Champions Trophy early

New Delhi: Mushfiqur Rahim, the talented cricketer from Bangladesh, has announced his retirement from One Day International (ODI) cricket. Citing a string of "challenging weeks" as the reason for his decision, Rahim believes that now is the right time to bid farewell to his ODI career.

In a Facebook post, the 37-year-old stated that while Bangladesh may not have had significant success on the international stage, he has contributed “more than 100%.”

“I am announcing my retirement from the ODI format as of today,” Mushfiqur wrote. “Alhamdulillah for everything. While our achievements may have been limited on a global level, one thing is certain: whenever I stepped onto the field for my country, I gave more than 100% with dedication and honesty.”

“The last few weeks have been very challenging for me, and I have come to realize that this is my destiny. Lastly, I would like to deeply thank my family, friends and my fans for whom I have played cricket for the last 19 years,” he added.

Mushfiqur has announced his retirement, finishing as Bangladesh’s second-leading run scorer in One Day Internationals (ODIs) with a total of 7,795 runs from 274 matches, which feature 9 centuries and 49 half-centuries. He achieved this with an average of 36.42.

He has recorded 243 catches and made 56 stumpings in his career.

The experienced batsman had a disappointing performance in the current Champions Trophy, as Bangladesh was eliminated early without securing a victory. He scored a golden duck in the team’s first match against India and only managed 2 runs against New Zealand. The final match against Pakistan was canceled before the toss.

Mushfiqur began his One Day International career in 2006, the same year he captained Bangladesh in the U19 World Cup. He achieved his first half-century against Zimbabwe in Harare and followed it up with a notable half-century in a significant victory against India during the 2007 ODI World Cup held in the Caribbean.

Mushfiqur stepped away from T20 internationals in September 2022 to concentrate on One Day Internationals and Test matches. He is currently only six Tests away from achieving the milestone of 100 Test appearances, which would make him the first Bangladeshi batsman to reach this landmark.