‘It’s unfortunate that you haven’t been called up yet’ – Tamim Iqbal vouches for Mahmudullah playing in the IPL

Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh’s all-time leading run-scorer, sounded surprised after Mahmudullah hasn’t been able to make the cut for the Indian Premier League (IPL). The southpaw reckons that the Mymensingh-born has done exceptionally in the format over the last few years and deserved a call-up by now. In the last few seasons, Riyad has gone unsold after even setting himself low base prices.

In T20 cricket, the 34-year-old has 3,873 runs in 214 matches with 13 half-centuries top show for his efforts. Though he has strained a bit for the Tigers, at the domestic circuit, he has been unstoppable. In the 2019-20 edition of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), he played for the Chattogram Challengers and churned out 201 runs in seven games at an average of 40.20.

Most importantly, he struck the ball at 170.33, much higher than his career number of 120.61. Despite missing a few games in the middle due to injury, he struck form in the crunch matches. He is also third in the list of highest run-scorers in the history of the BPL, having notched 1,820 runs with nine fifties at an average of 26.76.

Tamim lauds Mahmudullah

“I think you (Mahmudullah) deserve to be called up for the IPL,” Tamim was quoted saying during an Instagram Live session with Mahmudullah. “I always feel it. Especially the way you have been batting in T20 cricket for the last 3-4 years… I think it’s unfortunate that you haven’t been called up for the IPL yet,” Tamim added.

Apart from his batting prowess, Mahmudullah is no mug with the ball either. Riyad has 102 wickets at an economy of 7.09. There were instances, when he took his team to victory while defending not many runs in the last over. Of late, he has strained a bit to keep his spot in the national side.

Tamim, on the other hand, was a part of the Pune Warriors in the IPL, but never got a chance to play. He is the second highest run-scorer in the BPL after Mushfiqur Rahim. He played for the Dhaka Platoon in the last BPL and scored 396 runs from 12 matches with three half-centuries.