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The English bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes has admitted that it is highly unlikely that he would be playing in the ODI format, post the World Cup later this year in India. The 34-year-old also indicated that he won’t mind playing Test cricket only in England, if it will allow him to extend his longer format career.
Chris Woakes made his return to international cricket, after a long absence due to a knee injury, at Headingley, during the third Ashes Test match against Australia. During his memorable outing, he managed to hit the winning runs for England to keep his side alive in the series, after picking up six wickets across two innings. He reportedly pulled up “extremely sore” after the Test, according to a report in ESPNcricinfo.
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During his recent interview, Chris Woakes was quoted as saying about his prospects of playing the biggest cricketing spectacle in the white-ball format, “I would be amazed if I played 50-over cricket beyond the World Cup. It’ll be hard in India but we have a great team and squad that could hopefully do something special. At the end of that, you map out what the future might look like as an all-format player, and the next cycle, I certainly won't be playing ODI cricket at 38-39 years of age.”
“I’ve not been picked yet, and I’d never say never; never say no. I don’t know if I’d be selected on a tour like that, my away record speaks for itself. I've genuinely not thought about it, and there is a lot to come before that,” remarked the English bowling all-rounder.
Chris Woakes discusses his options as a Test player in the near future
Chris Woakes, who played his first Test match after a 15-month layoff, discussed his options in the longest format when he was asked about playing two home summers of red ball cricket at the expense of never appearing for England overseas. The 34-year-old said, “I would be happy with that, yeah, for a few different reasons. As much as I’d love to go to India and take 30 wickets in the series, it’s highly unlikely. You get to my age and start thinking, ‘How can I prolong my career?’”
“I don't want to go to India and do what I did in the Caribbean before and lose a year’s worth of cricket because of it. You learn from your mistakes and learn from past experiences, it’d be daft for me to do that,” opined Woakes.
