"Saturday could be my last game of cricket for England" - Dawid Malan ahead of 2023 World Cup clash against Pakistan
England opener Dawid Malan has strongly hinted that the 2023 World Cup clash against Pakistan on Saturday in Kolkata could be his last in international cricket. The left-hander said that plenty of things come into consideration due to age.
Malan, 36, sprang into contention for playing the World Cup last year, following a century against the Netherlands. He followed up with three-figure scores against Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh, and a stellar series against New Zealand before the World Cup.
At a pre-match presser on Friday, the veteran admitted that his future remains uncertain, as the selectors might look to rebuild after a forgettable overall campaign for the team. As quoted by The Daily Mail, Malan said:
"I’m in a unique situation as the second oldest in this team. I don’t know what my future holds, whether that’s my choice or the team’s choice. Saturday could be my last game of cricket for England or it could be the start of another journey.
"I’ve always wanted to be a part of this team and play for England for as long as I can, but ultimately, with age, you have to look a little bit further ahead and look at what’s best for the team and everything else. I guess there’s decisions to be made over the next couple of days once the dust has setteld."
The Middlesex batter has had a promising World Cup campaign, scoring 373 runs in eight games at 46.56. The left-hander's best of 140 came against Bangladesh in Dharamsala.
"We’re probably as shocked as everyone else" - Dawid Malan on England's disappointing campaign
Malan also said that England are carrying plenty of baggage for failing to replicate their World Cup success of 2019 and 2022 and want to end the tournament on a high.
The 36-year-old added:
"We’re probably as shocked as everyone else that we’ve not lived up to the standard that we wanted to live up to and win games of cricket. There's massive disappointment and regret from us all that we haven't been able to perform as well as we would as a team.
"We'd have loved to have been here at the business end and replicating what that fantastic team did in 2019 and what we did in the T20 World Cup, but it just hasn't been and as a group reflecting on it, we're extremely disappointed with that."
England will be keen to win on Saturday to confirm their qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy.