All-rounder Mahmudullah brushed-off media reports that had claimed the cricketer is in row with Bangladesh Test and T20I captain Shakib Al Hasan. During Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series last month, it was revealed that Mahmudullah’s relationship with his fellow all-rounder in the dressing room got a bit numb during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
According to reports, following Mahmudullah’s 28 off 41 balls in the World Cup match against England, Shakib was in opinion of dropping the right-handed batsman. This however was turned down by captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza following which Shakib was said to have stayed away from team planning for most of the World Cup.
The reports also said that Mahmudullah was not happy either with the support, or the apparent lack of it, he's been getting inside the dressing room from his teammates.
“I think it is better to not to talk about all these. I do not want to comment on [those reports]. But one thing I would like to mention that some facts were not presented well. It could have been presented differently,” said Mahmudullah to the reporters at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
“I don’t think I have issues with anyone in the national dressing room. We all are good friends. You can visit the dressing room someday and see how we spend our time in there. You will surely get to see how well we maintain relationships let it be with a junior or a senior. I always try my best to stay well with my colleagues. I have been doing this till date and it will be the same in the future,” said the 33-year old right-hander who made his international debut 12 years ago.
Speculation were high on the claimed issues given Mahmudullah had kept himself away from the media since Bangladesh’s tour of Ireland for the Tri-Nation ODI series in April this year. Shakib has maintained interaction with the media though avoided making comments of the claimed issues inside the dressing room while Mahmudullah kept himself mum.
“It was not that I kept myself away from the media. It was just that I was waiting for the right time to speak to the media, may be after doing something [big] for the team. I think I performed decently in the World Cup but was below par in the last series [against Sri Lanka],” said Mahmudullah.
Mahmudullah in the three match ODI series against hosts Sri Lanka had scored just 18 runs with innings of 3, 6 and 9. The middle-order batsman had travelled to the island nation backed by a not so exciting World Cup campaign scoring 219 runs in six innings with one half century. Mahmudullah, also a right-arm spinner, during the World Cup refrained from bowling due to tear on his shoulder.
