Dawid Malan's 3 most memorable moments in international cricketÂ
England's Dawid Malan announced his shock retirement from international cricket on Wednesday (August 28). The development comes after his snub from the 50-over side slated to play against Australia next month.
Malan had a sensational T20I debut in June 2017 against South Africa, where he smashed 78 off 44 to help the side win by 19 runs. He then forayed into the other two formats as well in the coming years. In 114 international games, the southpaw amassed 4,416 runs, with eight centuries and 32 fifties.
Despite his international retirement, Malan will stay in the scheme of things in franchise cricket. He recently contributed 189 runs at an average of 31.50 for champion Oval Invincibles in The Men's Hundred 2024, and garnered 210 runs for the winners Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20 2024.
On that note, let's take a look at the best moments of Dawid Malan's international career.
#1 Fastest to 1000 runs in T20Is
One thing was clear from Dawid Malan's T20I debut, he had all the experience and the ability to be a regular No. 3 for the English team. The left-hander produced confident strokeplay and accelerated the team's score in consistent intervals. He continued the same mindset by hitting three fifties in his next four knocks against teams like Australia and New Zealand.
Malan's first T20I century came against New Zealand in Napier in November 2019. He slammed 103* off 51 balls, with nine fours and six sixes to help England post 241 and win by 76 runs.
The talented batter made history on March 20, 2021, against India in Ahmedabad, as he became the fastest player to reach the 1000-run mark in the shortest format, taking just 24 innings. Although he top-scored for the side with a 68-run knock, England lost the game by 36 runs.
Despite Czech Republic's Sabawoon Davizi equaling the feat against France in 2022, Malan still holds the record among the Test-playing nations.
#2 Holding highest-ever ICC rating points by a T20I batter
Dawid Malan rose to the top of the men's T20I rankings for batters in September 2020 after the bilateral T20I series between Australia and Pakistan. In total, he garnered 213 runs in six innings to reign as the top batter.
Interestingly, Malan achieved rating points of 915 after he returned with knocks of 55 and 99* against South Africa in December 2020. To date, it is the highest-ever rating point achieved by a batter in the shortest format.
India's Suryakumar Yadav came very close to topping it off last year but could achieve a maximum of 910 points, after a few low scores.
#3 Dawid Malan emerged as England's top batter in 2023 World Cup
Dawid Malan's style of play completely suited the ODI format. But, during the initial years, he could not cement his place in the side due to the presence of in-form players, who also helped the team to clinch the 2019 World Cup. It was in 2021 when Malan found his way to be a permanent member of the 50-over side.
The southpaw emerged as the finest batter for the England side in the 2023 World Cup with 404 runs in nine innings at an average of 44.88. During this campaign, he also played his best-ever ODI knock of 140 off 107 against Bangladesh in Dharamsala to script a 137-run victory for the team.
However, the team's early departure from the showpiece event resulted in Malan never making a comeback to the ODI side. In 30 ODIs, the top-order batter garnered 1,450 runs at an astounding average of 55.76, with six centuries.