Was Mushfiqur Rahim forced to retire from T20Is? That turned out to be a million dollar question as the experienced campaigner guided his team Fortune Barisal to the final of the Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday (February28). When asked whether he regretted retiring from T20Is, Mushfiqur denied it with a smile.
"No (regrets)," he said. "You are saying this (my game sense and performance is 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. Mushfiqur had retired from T20Is on September 4, 2022 following the Asia Cup in UAE, just ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia. Mushfiqur faced lot of criticism for his lack of form back then and many were even critical of his inclusion for the Asia Cup.
Mushfiqur, who struck an unbeaten 47 off 38 balls to help Fortune Barisal book their berth in the BPL final, is currently the fifth-highest run-getter in BPL with 367 runs at a strike-rate of 123.56. He played some crucial knocks in the group phase, including a 39-ball 68 against Khulna Tigers and a 44-ball 63 against Comilla Victorians. Mushfiqur hit back at critics who raised questions regarding Fortune Barisal's recruitment with the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and him roped in.
"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 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 criterion to fitness whether it is age and performance? I feel it should be fitness and performance considering age is just a number otherwise player's 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 owner of Barisal. I want to repay their faith through my performance," he added.
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