“(Mahmudullah) Riyad is an important part of our white-ball cricket,” Mahmud said. “There has been no decision on him. We will take a decision when we sit down to do the team, whether we need him in the squad or not. I can say that Riyad is still important for us. It is good to have discussions on whether Riyad will get the chance or not. We also can’t say that Riyad isn’t an automatic choice. We have to take everything into consideration.”
Mahmud, considered Mahmudullah’s mentor from his early days, said that they were not getting the best out of him right now. “At the end of the day, we will consider the best interest of the Bangladesh team. We are not going to see someone differently just because he is more experienced. We definitely value his service, like the other experienced players. Riyad is trying hard, but we are not getting what we expect from him. He is scoring a run-a-ball 27, for instance.