Former World No.1 T20I batter Dawid Malan has announced his retirement from international cricket citing the “mental and physical toll” he had to bear throughout his career as he often felt as if I was playing for my place.
Announcing his retirement, Malan said, “It has been an incredible journey since July 2017. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to play for England in all three formats. Cricket, like most sports, is an industry where almost everyone eventually retires wishing they had done that little bit more. Whether you’ve played 10 Tests or 100, many step away regretting not playing just one more, scoring a few more runs, or winning more trophies.”
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“Right now, as I retire from international cricket, I can say I am genuinely satisfied. It has not been easy. It may be my nature, but for whatever reason, it has always seemed that I had something to prove and often felt as if I was playing for my place. The pressure goes with the territory, but it does take a mental and physical toll. Even so, I look back with pride on what I have been able to achieve,” he added.
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Having last played for England at the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, Malan has not featured in international cricket since.
During his career, Malan played 114 matches – 22 Tests, 30 ODIs and 62 T20Is – across all formats. He amassed 4,416 runs at an average of 37.74, including eight centuries and 31 fifties.
Malan announced his arrival at the international stage with a standout 44-ball 78 against South Africa in his T20I debut in June 2017, and it was in this format where he truly shone.
In September 2020, Malan ascended to the top of the ICC Men’s Test batting rankings and became the fastest men’s player to reach 1000 runs in Test cricket, achieving the milestone in just 24 innings.
Malan also holds the illustrious distinction of achieving a peak rating of 915 in the ICC T20I Player Rankings for batting – the highest by any batter in the history of the game.
He was also a key member of England’s T20 World Cup-winning squad in Australia in 2022, although he was sidelined for the knockout stages after suffering a groin injury against Sri Lanka in the group stage.
Malan also enjoyed significant success in ODIs, entering the 2023 World Cup in India in stellar form. Between June 2022 and September 2023, he scored five centuries in just 15 innings, earning his place in the squad as an opener.
He continued his impressive run with a century (140 off 107 balls) in England’s second match of the tournament against Bangladesh, leading his team to victory. Despite his efforts, England’s campaign faltered as they were eliminated in the group stages and failed to defend their title. Throughout the tournament, Malan was one of the few bright spots for England, finishing as the team’s top run-scorer with 404 runs, including one century and two fifties.
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