Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe to retire from T20I cricket

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe to retire from T20I cricket Bangladesh limited-overs captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza says he will sign...

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe to retire from T20I cricket

Bangladesh limited-overs captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza says he will sign off from Twenty20 International cricket after the ongoing two-match series against Sri Lanka.

The strapping 33-year-old pacer, who plays wearing braces to protect his creaking knee, made the announcement during the toss interview of the first 20-over affair at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday evening.

"This is going to be my last T20 series for Bangladesh," Mashrafe said after the toss. “Would like to thank the BCB, my family, friends and team mates who've been with me for 15-16 years.”

On his official Facebook page, Mashrafe said the reason behind the decision was to make way for the youngsters in the team.

"It has been a great honor for me to represent Bangladesh in T20I for more than 10 years. I believe that this team is currently a balanced one & there are some promising young stars," Mashrafe wrote.

"This is high time for me to say good-bye to T20 format so that many youngsters can get the opportunity to showcase their talent and thus BCB can nurture them for the future. Let me congratulate the new Captain in advance & I am sure the best is yet to come," he added.

Mashrafe was the best player on his T20 debut in 2006. Since then he has played in 53 of Bangladesh’s 66 games and grabbed 39 wickets, the Tigers’ third highest in the format.

He has led Bangladesh in 27 matches, including Tuesday’s game, which is the highest for the team and won nine of them.