More mockery of the system awaits

"Thank you Mahmudullah Riyad bhai for your service with the red ball," wrote Bangladesh's ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal, who missed out playing in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Harare due to a knee injury but was part of the Tigers' Test squad, after Bangladesh had ensured their second-ever Test series triumph overseas on Sunday.

Like Tamim, almost everyone in the Bangladesh side paid tribute to Mahmudullah through their posts on social media on Sunday night.

Hence, it was clear that Mahmudullah has featured for the last time in Bangladesh's white kit. In fact, it was made clear on the final day of the Harare Test when the players gave Mahmudullah a guard of honour, the traditional way of paying tribute to a player for his services to the game.

Interestingly, however, there was no official announcement after the game, despite all the indications. And skipper Mominul Haque, who would go on to thank Mahmudullah for his 'contributions and love' on his Facebook page later on, said he did not know anything about Mahmudullah's retirement when asked in the post-match press conference.

Contradictory and odd, right? 

Truth is, the whole Mahmudullah issue, like every other affair of Bangladesh cricket and its management, has been murky from the very beginning. In Mahmudullah's case, the murkiness began back in February 2020 when the cricketer was dropped from the Test side after Bangladesh were hammered by Pakistan in a Test in Rawalpindi.

While it was understandable that he was dropped from the Test squad owing to a series of poor performances prior to the Rawalpindi Test, Mahmudullah's total expulsion from the Test side and his removal from even the future plans for Tests was never justified given the quality of batsman the 35-year-old is. 

The pattern of nonsensical decisions continued and Mahmudullah was recalled at the last minute for the Zimbabwe Test after 17 months of forced exile. Mahmudullah added to the turbulence with his sudden decision of retiring despite, according to Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan, informing the BCB of his intentions to play all formats for the foreseeable future before the tour of Zimbabwe.

The only plausible reason behind no official announcement of retirement from Mahmudullah yet could be ascertained from the fact that BCB president Hassan had asked the player to take a decision in this regard after returning to the country following the completion of the Zimbabwe tour. 

But with what has transpired in the past few days, it is clear that Mahmudullah has made up his mind about not stepping onto the field wearing the white kit of Bangladesh anymore. His unbeaten career-best 150 against Zimbabwe most certainly will be his last showing in Tests.

Does Mahmudullah's sudden decision of leaving Test after such a remarkable knock has anything to do with his inexplicable axing from the Test squad 17 months ago? Did he want to leave the format after proving a point? And was Mahmudullah even right to call time in the middle of a series despite informing the cricket board in writing about his intentions to carry on playing Tests beforehand?

The answers to these questions could be left to pondering but, the one thing that is almost certain is that there will be many more such ludicrous dramatic events in Bangladesh cricket in the future and it will only be a mockery of the cricketing system from the ones who work within it.