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Morne Morkel to quit ODIs, T20Is?

Morne Morkel feels his career is ‘nearly finished’ and will meet Cricket South Africa (CSA) at the end of England tour

Morne Morkel returned to limited-overs cricket in the England tour after 11 months © Getty Images
Morne Morkel returned to limited-overs cricket in the England tour after 11 months © Getty Images

We have seen earlier AB de Villiers considering Test retirement to prolong his limited-overs career. Faf du Plessis post the New Zealand Test series win hinted on not playing more than 4 years from now. While the experienced players in South Africa are aiming for 2019 World Cup as their last swansong, Morne Morkel has different plans. The South African pacer is planning to do away with limited-overs cricket and focus on the longest format. The 32-year-old Morkel feels his career is ‘nearly finished’ and will meet Cricket South Africa (CSA) at the end of England tour to discuss his future. Morkel was side-lined from South Africa’s limited-overs cricket for over 11 months.

When asked on how long he could realistically see himself playing international cricket for South Africa, Morkel did not provide a concrete time-frame, “I don’t know. After this tour we’ll see. I’ll speak with Cricket South Africa and see where they see me featuring. I love playing for this team. But it’s not rocket science that they probably want to start looking, in white-ball cricket, at the 2019 World Cup. Am I going to part of those plans? If I can be around to help the younger guys find their feet, so be it. I’ll do that. For me the main focus is this tour and then we’ll go back and see how we go,” Morkel told ESPNcricinfo.

Morkel returned to limited-overs cricket for the final ODI against England recently. He was also an integral part of the South African squad during the Champions Trophy. “My conditioning’s been good over the years and I really look after my body. Mentally and physically I feel strong. But the World Cup is two or three years down the line and those are decisions they need to make,” Morkel added.

The current limited-overs pace attack comprises of Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo and Lungi Ngidi. Rabada, Phehlukwayo and Ngidi are all under 23 and have a long way to go with South Africa. However, South Africa are yet to find a suitable candidate to replace Kyle Abbott. Morkel does not see himself as the ideal person.

Morkel had opted out of IPL to focus on the England tour and he is also considering opting out of CPL to focus on the long summer season. South Africa will be then playing 10 Tests and their own Global T20 league will also go underway.

Morkel is not ruling out T20 leagues entirely but his major focus will be on international matches, “If there’s a T20 league I can go and play in and improve my skills and put my name into the hat for other tournaments, then I need to make that opportunity count. But the Proteas and this environment come first. So I need to focus on that.”

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