Mashud announces retirement

Khaled Mashud, the former Bangladesh captain and wicketkeeper, has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has accepted the decision, stated by Mashud in a letter to them on Thursday.

"I have made this decision after a lot of soul searching and this is a very emotional moment for me," Mashud said. "For the last 13 years I have tried to serve my country to the best of my ability and I thank the board for putting faith in my capabilities as a player and captain.

"I would also like to thank all the cricketers I have been privileged enough to have as team-mates, coaches and officials for their support during my career as a player. It has been an honour to play for Bangladesh."

Mashud, 32, has been one of the most successful wicketkeepers for Bangladesh since their introduction into international cricket, with 169 catches and 44 stumpings in all forms. He made his Test debut in Bangladesh's inaugural Tests, against India in Dhaka in 2000-01, and played his first one-dayer against the same opponents at Sharjah in 1995.

He was handed the captaincy when Naimur Rahman was sacked after the home defeat to Zimbabwe late in 2001. However, he could not stop Bangladesh's woeful run, and quit the captaincy after the 2003 World Cup.

Mashud continued to remain a key figure in the side and his finest hour came in St Lucia in June 2004, when his unbeaten second-innings knock of 103 secured Bangladesh a draw in their first Test in the Caribbean. He was also part of the Bangladesh team during their first Test win, over Zimbabwe in Chittagong in January 2005.

Mashud courted controversy over his comments to Bangladesh daily, the Daily Star , when he said he should have been an "automatic choice" for the 2007 World Cup squad. Taken to be a breach of contract, he was fined 50% of an ODI match fee subsequently. Mashud was ultimately dropped in favour of Mushfiqur Rahim, having played his last ODI against Zimbabwe in Bogra in 2006.

Bangladesh's most-capped player with 170 appearances in all formats, he scored 1818 runs in 126 ODIs at 21.90, with 91 catches and 35 stumpings. He also scored 1409 runs at 19.04 in 44 Tests with 78 catches and nine stumpings, playing his last match against Sri Lanka in Colombo in June 2007.

Along with Javed Omar, he was not handed new contracts by the BCB in June 2008 after the board had reduced the duration of the contract from one year to six months for a few senior players in December 2007.

He was appointed as a consultant by the Bangladesh board's games development committee along with Aminul Islam and Mohammad Rafique to coach age-group and academy cricketers in August 2008. Mashud will, however, continue to play first-class cricket for Rajshahi Division in Bangladesh's National Cricket League, which begins from October 10.