- England will finally put an end to their disastrous World Cup defense in India on Saturday
- Opener Malan was his side’s best batsman during the tournament, but is 36
- He admitted that he would like to stay and share his experience if possible
Dawid Malan admitted Saturday’s World Cup match against Pakistan in Calcutta could be his last for England.
Malan, 36, was easily England’s star performer in their disastrous World Cup defence, with 373 runs in eight matches at an average of 46.62.
Although England Managing Director, Rob Key and National Selector, Luke Wright, arrived in India this week and an overhaul of the squad was expected after the World Cup, Malan revealed that this could be the end of the road for him as an international cricketer .
‘As the second oldest on this team, I am in a unique situation. I don’t know what my future holds, whether it’s my choice or the team’s. Saturday could be my last cricket match for England or it could be the start of a new journey,” Malan said.
‘I’ve always wanted to be part of this team and play for England for as long as possible, but ultimately with age you have to look a little further ahead and look at what’s best for the team and everything else. I think decisions will have to be made in the coming days once the dust settles.”
Dawid Malan has admitted that England’s match against Pakistan on Saturday could be his last game for his country
The opener was the standout batsman for England in a disastrous defense
Malan has played just 29 ODIs for England since making his debut in 2019. He waited more than two years for his next ODI appearance, but with six hundreds since then and a career average of 56.76, his average ranks fifth on the all-time list . batters who have had at least 20 ODI innings.
And Malan insisted he is still keen to be part of England’s rebuild after the tournament, having just signed a one-year deal.
“If they want experience with someone who has played a lot and played the way the team wants to play, I would love to still be there and do it, but like I said, when you get to this stage where you The oldest players are usually the ones who go first regardless of the results, and that’s part of the game,” Malan said.
With six defeats in eight games, England’s horror World Cup defense has come as a surprise to most, including Malan.
England are set for a major post-match rebuild with a number of players expected to leave ODI duty
England director Rob Key arrives in India this week with some important decisions to be made
“We’re probably as shocked as everyone else that we haven’t lived up to the standard we wanted to achieve and win cricket matches.
“For whatever reason we just haven’t been good enough and we have to hold our hands up and take responsibility for that,” he said.
“There is enormous disappointment and regret from all of us that we were not able to perform as well as we would have done as a team.
“We would have loved to be here on the business side and replicate what that fantastic team did in 2019 and what we did in the T20 World Cup but that just hasn’t happened and as a group thinking about it we are hugely disappointed with that .’