Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah feels that he probably had a bit too much rest before being included in the national ODI set-up for the ongoing ICC World Cup. The veteran batter made a return to the ODI fold during the home series against New Zealand after being in the wilderness for six months after being excluded following the home series against England earlier this year.
The national selection panel termed his exclusion as ‘rest’ while many felt Mahmudullah’s career was all but over considering the fact that the team management was determined to promote youngsters to prepare for the World Cup.
The repeated failures of the youngsters forced the national team management to bring back Mahmudullah but he was batting below No.6 until the South African game. Mahmudullah made it count by scoring his fourth ODI hundred at the Wankhede Stadium to make a statement.
“I can’t say anything regarding that time (when I was out of the national team). I do want to talk about a lot of things but this is not the right time to talk about,” Mahmudullah said after the game. “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.
“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,” he said.
Mahmudullah added that he doesn’t have any hard feeling batting down the order as the team management opted to send him at number eight instead of his favoured role. “I have seen a lot of ups and downs throughout my career. (Batting down the order) is fine,” he pointed out.
“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,” he said, adding that he wanted to dedicate this century to his family while thanking everyone who supported and opposed him during this critical juncture of his career.
“I would like to dedicate it to my family and those people who supported and prayed for me in the last three months. I want to thank those among you who supported me, and those who didn’t support me.”
