Dawid Malan’s performance is one of the few bright spots for England in an otherwise dismal ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign. However, the left-handed opener might play his "last" ODI against Pakistan on Saturday (November 11).
Having lost 6 out of 8 matches, the defending champions are already out of the semi-final race. The Three Lions will be playing their farewell match of this World Cup at the Eden Gardens and it is likely that the team will go under a major overhaul ahead of the packed white-ball calendar.
"Yeah, I guess I'm in a unique situation being the second oldest in this team. I don't know what my future holds, whether that be my choice or the team's choice," Malan said in their pre-match presser on Friday (November 10).
With one century and two fifties, the southpaw has been the leading run-scorer (373) for England in this World Cup.
"After this tournament probably, I have a bit of reflection time and see where I'm at and see what the future holds for me.
"Tomorrow could be the last game of cricket for England for me and it could still be the start of another journey. Who knows? We'll only find out when the dust settles," he said.
David Malan averages 56.76 after playing 29 ODIs while he held the No. 1 spot in the T20I batting rankings in the past.
Despite his impressive stats, the 36-year-old feels his England days could be numbered. But given a choice, Malan said he would love to play for England as long as he can.
"Yeah, definitely. Playing for England means everything for me. I've made no secret of that, I've always wanted to be part of this team and play for England for as long as I can," he said.
"But ultimately you get to a stage where you have to look a little bit further ahead and what's best for maybe the team and what's best for everything else so you know I guess there are decisions to be made over the next couple of days when the dust has settled and yeah, we'll see where we end up," he added.
Following the World Cup, England will travel to West Indies for three ODIs and five T20Is.
"I guess from a physical side -- the body's quite sore. I've got to admit it's been quite long. When you're winning games of cricket it doesn't feel as sore when you're losing it, you know it starts to feel a bit heavy," Malan said.
"But from a batting point of view I feel like I'm playing as well as I've ever played. I feel like I'm still as good as I've ever been, and I guess that desire to keep scoring as many runs as I can is always there," he added.
After the highs of 2019 to the first-round elimination in the ongoing edition, it has been a roller-coaster World Cup journey for England.
"The sport changes quickly. It has a way of biting you in the backside. It creeps up on you quite quickly. We're so disappointed in the fact that we are here playing against Pakistan at Eden Gardens and we're not in the race for it," Malan said.
"It's disappointing. But we still have a lot to play for, we still have the Champions' Trophy. I don't know if we have actually qualified for that or not yet, but we still need to put in a good performance and leave with a bit of pride, because it's hurting," he concluded.
(With PTI Inputs)
