Dawid Malan hangs boots from International cricket
Former no. 1 ICC-ranked T20I batter, Dawid Malan announced his retirement from the International circuit on August 28. The decision comes on the back of his omission from the England white-ball squad that is scheduled to face Australia for three T20Is and five ODIs in September 2024.
Malan, 36 last represented England in the 2023 ODI World Cup, has officially called time off from international cricket. Representing the Three Lions in 22 Tests, 30 ODIs and 62 T20Is, the left-handed batter amassed 1074, 1450, and 1892 runs respectively.
Following his retirement, Malan told ‘The Times’ that he was happy he "exceeded all expectations” in white-ball formats. But failing to get a consistent run in Test cricket is something he remorses on.
Made his Test debut in 2017 against his birth nation South Africa, the southpaw constructed only 35 runs across four innings. However, he kept the selectors' faith by smashing two half-centuries in England’s next assignment against West Indies at home.
"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.”
He smashed his only Test ton (146) against Australia in Perth and averaged 33 in 2017-18 and 2021-22, bettered only by Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. However, he never got to represent England in whites after a 146-run loss at Hobart in January 2022.
It is worth noting that Malan reached new heights in 2020 after becoming the no. 1 ranked T20I batter as per ICC rankings. His average read 78, 43, 68.33, and 49.62 in the years 2018,2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively.
“I took all three formats extremely seriously but the intensity of Test cricket was something else: five days plus the days building up. 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,” he further added.
Malan was a part of the Oval Invincibles in the recently concluded Men’s Hundred but failed to make a huge impact with the bat for the champions. With his international career over, the Yorkshire batter would look to entertain the mass in franchise leagues and England domestic.
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