‘The last thing you want to do is what you did five years ago’
The Daily Star (TDS): You are playing franchise cricket all over the world and also for England. Are you happy with the way things are going?
Dawid Malan (DW): I can always be happier because if you are satisfied then you are not going to push yourself. I am looking forward and still trying to learn a lot more about T20 cricket and adapting my game to match the trajectory of the game. The last thing you want to do is what you did five years ago because the game changes so quickly. So far, I am happy with the record I have got but obviously I want to keep improving and win more matches.
TDS: Would you like to be more regular in the England national team at least in the shortest format given the experience you have playing franchise cricket?
DM: Yeah, obviously you want to play international cricket and be the number one guy on the teamsheet. But you know England have been wonderful for the past three-four years so it’s hard to break into that team. But hopefully you keep getting the opportunity and when you score runs eventually you make a spot of your own. That’s the key thing when you try to break into a strong team -- putting up performances. Even if you get one chance, you make sure you score runs. If you don’t score runs you can’t really ask to be a regular player. I strive to play in the England team and want to be a part of the eleven. For that you have to score a lot of runs not only for England but also in franchise leagues as well.
TDS: Any young local bowlers that impressed you so far here?
DM: We played against Rangpur and a young bowler, Mukidul Islam, made his debut. He bowled well. He might be very quick here in Bangladesh but when you compare him with someone like Wahab Riaz who is quicker than him, it’s a different story. He needs to learn pretty quickly that he is not the quickest among the lot. But he was pretty impressive to set up with his overs and its always a good sign that guys are thinking.
TDS: With pitches favouring the batsmen, how do you approach bowlers?
DM: Probably the biggest mindset change that I had. When you play county cricket, you usually get across two or three good bowlers and two or three bowlers whom you can target. So, you used to see off the better bowlers and attack the bowlers who were not good. But in international cricket you have to take down the best bowlers. It’s part of my thing: trying to attack the best bowlers no matter what the run rate and situation is. But obviously when the situation dictates that you can’t take the risk, then that’s different.
TDS: Do yoau think England winning the World Cup will be a huge boost for the nation’s cricket?
DM: I think the World Cup win and what the boys achieved was unbelievable. Four years in the making, four years of sticking together, backing each other, facing a lot of grief from the media after the way they played. But they still stuck to the game plan and strategy from Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss and that was the key for that World Cup win. If you look at what it has done for cricket in England, hopefully the younger generation want to be the next Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan or Jos Butler.
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