Ahead of the second Test match against Team India, England`s star pacer Chris Woakes opened up on his retirement plans and stated that he is not looking to keep playing like former pacer James Anderson.
“I don`t think I`ll be playing when I`m 41, James, particularly for England. I`ve tried to get the most out of my career. I`m still in that position where I feel like I`m trying to get better, trying to improve every time I go out there. Pass on that knowledge, as I said. People like to talk about age a lot,” Woakes said in a press conference.
Currently, the 36-year-old is the most experienced pacer in England`s team.
He has not set a time period for his career and feels that age is just a number. He also said that as long as he feels he can contribute, he will continue to play.
“But at the same time, it`s just a number. As long as I`m contributing to the team and feel like I`m performing well, then I`ll carry on. If one day that sort of time comes where you get a tap on the shoulder, then so be it,” said the pacer.
Further, Woakes said that currently he is enjoying playing for the `Three Lions` and will carry on as long as possible.
“But at the moment I`m enjoying it. I love being around the group. I love enjoying playing cricket for England still, and I`ll carry on for as long as I possibly can,” said the Birmingham-born pacer.
He has been handed the responsibility of spearheading England`s attack in the ongoing five-match Test series against India. In the first Test, the speedster managed just a solitary scalp of Karun Nair in the second innings. Even though it wasn`t the ideal beginning for Chris Woakes, he will look to scythe more wickets in front of his home crowd.
England playing XI for the second Test against India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.
(With ANI Inputs)
