England batter Dawid Malan retires from international cricket
England batter Dawid Malan announced his retirement from international cricket at 37. The elegant left-handed batter was a former No.1 ranked batter in T20Is but has been out of favor with the selectors since England's dismal 2023 ODI World Cup campaign.
Malan has played 22 Tests, 30 ODIs, and 62 T20Is for England and is one of only two England players (Jos Buttler the other) to score a century in all three formats.
He confirmed his international retirement after being omitted from the England side for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia. Malan finishes with 4,416 runs in international cricket, including eight centuries and 32 half-centuries in 114 appearances.
Malan will continue to be a highly valued commodity in T20 Leagues around the globe after recently helping the Oval Invincibles to glory in the 2024 Hundred. He also played a major role in the SunRisers Eastern Cape winning their second title in the previous SA20 season.
Malan was also part of the 2022 T20 World Cup-winning England squad despite missing the semi-final and final due to a groin injury.
"Test cricket was always the pinnacle for me growing up" - Dawid Malan
Dawid Malan admitted his regrets about not forging a more successful Test career for England despite the odd flashes.
The 37-year-old debuted in the red-ball format for England in 2017 but played only 22 Tests with an average of 27.53. Malan's highlight in his Test career remains his 140 against Australia in Perth in the 2017 Ashes.
Speaking to the Times as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, Malan said:
"Test cricket was always the pinnacle for me growing up. At times I played well but in between just wasn't good enough or consistent enough, which was disappointing because I felt I was a better player than that. I took all three formats extremely seriously but the intensity of Test cricket was something else: five days plus the days building up."
He added:
"I'm a big trainer; I love hitting lots of balls and I'd train hard in the build-up, and then the days were long and intense. You can't switch off. I found it very mentally draining, especially the long Test series that I played, where my performances dropped off from the third or fourth Test onwards."
Malan's last Test appearance came in the 2021/22 Ashes down under England lost 4-0.