England opener Dawid Malan hints Pakistan tie could be his 'last' ODI

ICC World Cup 2023 England opener Dawid Malan may have been their lone soldier in a disastrous World Cup campaign but at 36 the second oldest member of the side feels their match against Pakistan on Saturday could be his last ODIOut of the semifinal race the defending champions will be playing their farewell match of the World Cup at Eden Gardens as their ageing side may set for an overhaul ahead of a packed whiteball calendarYeah I guess Im in a unique situation being the second oldest in this team I dont know what my future holds whether that be my choice or the teams choice Malan said in their prematch media conferenceWith one century and two fifties the lefthanded opener has been the top rungetter 373 for England in this World CupAfter this tournament probably I have a bit of reflection time and see where Im at and see what the future holds for meTomorrow could be the last game of cricket for England for me and it could still be the start of another journey Who knows Well only find out when the dust settles he saidA late bloomer having made his international debut at an age of 29 Malan has been the standout whiteball cricketer for England and held the No 1 T20 rankingThe veteran is also the only batter to feature in Englands record T20I and ODI totals 2413 vs New Zealand and 4984 against the Netherlands respectively having scored century eachAlso ReadFandom at its finestNotwithstanding his prime numbers Malan is well aware that his England days could be numbered and may well set for his last global tournament when they fight for another title defence in the T20I World Cup in the Caribbean and USA in June next yearBut given a choice Malan said he would have liked to go onYeah definitely Playing for England means everything for me Ive made no secret of that Ive always wanted to be part of this team and play for England for as long as I can he saidBut ultimately you get to a stage where you have to look a little bit further ahead and whats best for maybe the team and whats 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 well see where we end up he addedEngland head to the West Indies for a whiteball series beginning with first of the three ODIs on December 3 It follows a fivematch T20I seriesEngland have suffered six defeats from eight matches which included a fivematch losing streak to be knocked out of semifinal raceI guess from a physical side the bodys quite sore Ive got to admit its been quite long When youre winning games of cricket it doesnt feel as sore when youre losing it you know it starts to feel a bit heavy he saidBut from a batting point of view I feel like Im playing as well as Ive ever played I feel like Im still as good as Ive ever been and I guess that desire to keep scoring as many runs as I can is always there he addedAlso ReadBruised but not batteredFrom being the title holders to have been eliminated quite early it has been a roller coaster journey for EnglandThe sport changes quickly It has a way of biting you in the backside It creeps up on you quite quickly Were so disappointed in the fact that we are here playing against Pakistan at Eden Gardens and were not in the race for it Malan saidIts disappointing But we still have a lot to play for we still have the Champions Trophy I dont 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 its hurting he signed offWith agency inputs