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Veteran Bangladesh batter Mahmudullah reckons that he was given a bit too much “rest” ahead of the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup. He, however, added that the decision was not in his control and stated that all he can do is perform his role to the best of his ability when the opportunity arises.
Mahmudullah, 37, was the lone ranger for Bangladesh with the bat in their 149-run loss to South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. He scored a run-a-ball 111, hitting 11 fours and a six as Bangladesh recovered from 58/5 to finish with 233 after being set to chase 383.
Mahmudullah was not a certainty for the World Cup as Bangladesh were looking to the future. However, after being snubbed following the home series against England earlier this year, he was handed an ODI comeback for the home series against New Zealand.
According to the selectors, he was being "rested" even as some critics felt that his international career was over. Speaking after his resilient hundred against South Africa, Mahmudullah opened up on his time away from the national team.
"I can't say anything regarding that time. I do want to talk about a lot of things but this is not the right time to talk about [those]. I don't know. Probably Allah has given me the strength to keep going. I tried to keep my fitness in shape. I kept working hard. That's all I can do. All I can say is that, I wanted to contribute to the team. I would have liked to contribute more so that we win the game," he said.
"I think there was a little too much rest for me. It was not in my control. It was the decision of the team management. If I can do my job honestly, it is good enough for me and the team," the experienced batter added.
Mahmudullah’s dominance in Bangladesh’s batting performance against South Africa can be gauged by the fact that Litton Das (22) was the only other batter to cross the 20-run mark in the innings.
“Have seen a lot of ups and downs throughout my career” - Mahmudullah on batting down the order
The experienced right-handed batter was being sent into bat as low as No. 8 in the earlier games. He was promoted to No. 6 against the Proteas and made it count, slamming his fourth ODI hundred.
When asked about being moved up and down the order, Mahmudullah replied:
"I have seen a lot of ups and downs throughout my career. (Batting down the order) is fine. Yesterday, coach told me that I was batting at No 6. I went out there and played my game. I didn't target my hundred. I was just batting. You just bat. I told Mustafiz to hold on. Let us stay for 50 overs as there's an issue for run-rate. I just wanted to go deep, and try to score some runs for the team.”
Despite Mahmudullah’s valiant knock, Bangladesh find themselves in the last position in the points table with a solitary win from five matches.
