Hashim Amla yet to take call on his future, says he’s feeling good, fit

His inclusion in the South African World Cup squad for the ongoing tournament was not certain till the end. But an ageing Hashim Amla still made it despite an ordinary form as the selectors kept in mind his glorious deeds as a batsman. But the 36-year-old failed to live up to the expectations in his third and final World Cup as a major batting debacle saw the Proteas bowing out of the tournament prematurely. And now, Amla has revealed that he will take a call on his future in international cricket only after the World Cup gets over.

Amla showed some form in his latest few games as he picked up two half-centuries in three games. His 80 not out in the last match against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street brought back a known South Africa as they won by 9 wickets though it was far too late by then. SA could win only two games in their right outings so far and are lying eighth in the points table with a tally of just three (one game was washed out).

They had put themselves under a whole lot of pressure by losing three straight games in the beginning. It was always going to be immensely difficult to make a comeback from that position. SA will play current table-toppers Australia in their final league match at Old Trafford on July 6. It is also going to be the final league match of this World Cup before the semi-finals begin.

Two teams other than South Africa – West Indies and Afghanistan – have also crashed out of the tournament. Australia are the only team to have confirmed a spot in the semi-final till now.

Amla finished 8k ODI runs during World Cup, as second fastest

It has been speculated that a number of senior players in the South African side will call it a day after this World Cup, including Amla. However, the batsman, who completed 8,000 ODI runs during the World Cup as the second fastest after India captain Virat Kohli, said he is feeling good and fit and hasn’t made any forecasts over his career’s future.

When asked about his future plans after scoring the fifty against the Lankans, Amla was quoted as saying by SA Cricket Mag: “I don’t know. Once the World Cup is done, I’ll get home and chill with the family. I’m feeling good, I’m feeling fit.”

Amla, who had an injury scare after getting hit on his helmet by a fast delivery from England pacer Jofra Archer in the very first match, scored at an average of 40 in this World Cup. However, his strike rate has been ordinary (around 65).

“Sometimes it might be a bit slower. Coming into this competition there was all this talk about 350 scores, and if you look around it hasn’t really materialised that way,” Amla said on the lesser strike rate.

“You’ve got to play each game and wicket how you can, and I use my experience to play accordingly,” he added.