Former Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes has announced his retirement from the Test cricket through a video message from his social media handles today.
The 1.29-minute-long video was accompanied with a caption reading, "Goodbye Test cricket. Grateful for the love."
The 37-year old played his last Test against India in 2019 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India which was Bangladesh's only day-night Test till date.
Thereafter he waited five years to play another Test but the opportunity didn't come.
In a video message, Kayes also revealed that he would retire from the first class cricket after November 16 when his side Khulna will take on Dhaka in a National Cricket Match (NCL) match at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
Imrul said, "I want to convey one thing with respect and love to all the cricket-loving viewers of Bangladesh."
"I am going to take a difficult decision in my career very soon." He said. 'I am going to retire from Test cricket and at the same time I will play the last match of my first-class career on November 16 (Saturday). This is one of the most difficult and emotional moments of my life in my 17-year long career."
Imrul made his first-class cricket debut for Khulna Division in a match against Dhaka Division on February 14, 2007. After that he played for Khulna for a long time.
Having made his debut in 2008 in ODIs, Imrul quickly made him eligible for Test team and represented the nation for 11 years.
He had played in 39 Test matches, scoring 1797 runs at an average of 24.28 with a highest score of 150. He scored three centuries and four half-centuries.
In 78 ODIs, he made 2434 runs at an average of 32.02. He has four centuries and 16 fifties under his belt in this format. He played 14 T20 Internationals, scoring 119 runs.
However he is yet to announce his retirement from ODI and T20 format.
