Departing all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad said on Saturday that he is privileged to represent his country for so many years in the shorter formats of game.

Privileged to represent Bangladesh for so many years  in T20Is: MahmudullahThe veteran cricketer, who decided to quit from the shorter format to pave ways for young cricketers, received a guard of honour before his final T20I match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.

“Obviously it is an emotional moment for me and I feel privileged to play so many years for Bangladesh. It is what it is and it’s time to move on and leave my space for youngsters (in T20Is) and try to concentrate on the ODI format,” Mahmudullah, who played 141 T20 matches for Bangladesh, told broadcasters on the eve of his final international game in the T20 format.

“I think if you consider the achievement, we have seen ups and downs in this formats specially. When I got it into the dressing room back in 2007, probably it was not that much of a winning sort of a dressing room at that point of time after playing for 17 years the atmosphere of the dressing room is much better,” he said. “The boys are eager to win wherever you play and whoever the opposition is and so but I think we need to be bit more consistent in our games,” he said, adding that he need to change his batting approach in 2016 after having a clear role in his mind.

“Before 2016 my stats were not that great and in 2016 I was clear about my role in the team and because I need to bat at number six or number seven where you probably get 10 to 15 balls and you just need to go out there and hit the ball hard and from there I have to change approach and working on changing my approach and try to contribute for the team,” he said.