“I have no idea,” says Dawid Malan regarding playing Cape Town T20I vs South Africa

Dawid Malan: The No. 1 ranked T20I batsman is unsure of finding a spot in the Playing XI in the forthcoming Cape Town T20I.

Currently preparing for a white-ball tour in South Africa, England batsman Dawid Malan has admitted to taking a “little bit of time” to find his touch after a two-month break.

“It’s awesome actually. It’s so nice to get out of the cold and into some warmth. Especially here at Newlands, what a ground this is,” Malan told reporters via a Zoom link from England’s training session at Newlands.

“For someone like myself who wasn’t at the IPL, not playing cricket for two months, it takes a little bit of time to get into it. But getting back into the challenge of facing some bowlers is really exciting. You don’t enjoy it too much when you are having to face Jofra [Archer] and Woody [Mark Wood] in the nets but it gets the heart going and the adrenaline pumping, which is what you want,” Malan said.

Malan, 33, had last played competitive cricket for Yorkshire in the T20 Blast in September. His last international assignment dates back to the same month when he represented England in a three-match T20I series against Australia at home.

“I have no idea,” says Dawid Malan regarding playing Cape Town T20I vs South Africa

Since the start of 2019, Malan is England’s third-highest run-scorer (behind Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow) in T20Is on the back of amassing 432 runs in 11 innings at an average ans strike rate of 48 and 144.48 respectively and including one century and three half-centuries.

Having scored 682 runs at an average and strike rate of 48.71 and 146.66 respectively in his 16-match T20I career, Malan has powered himself to the top of ICC’s T20I rankings for batsmen. Despite these awe-inspiring numbers backing him, the southpaw is unsure of finding a place in the Playing XI for the first T20I against South Africa in Cape Town on November 27.

“I have no idea [about starting the series]. I’d like to say I am but I have no idea. That’s a question for the selectors, the coaches and Eoin Morgan. I’d like to, but I’ll leave that to them to make that decision.

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“I think everyone has to work to play for England. I don’t think it’s ever just given on a plate. If you look at the limited opportunities I’ve had since I was in the first Twenty20 squad in 2016, I’ve only played 16 games. You obviously look back and think you probably didn’t get as much of a run, but that’s understandable because of the quality of players England have had – they won a World Cup and been absolutely fantastic,” Malan added.

The uncertainty around Malan making it to the starting XI speaks highly about England’s prowess in white-ball cricket especially when it comes to the batting department. The presence of Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes has it in it to make Malan wait for another opportunity in T20Is.