Veteran South Africa spinner, Imran Tahir has hinted that he will bid farewell to cricket if his side lifts the ICC Cricket World Cup next year in England.
Meanwhile, Tahir is currently a part of the South Africa squad who are playing Zimbabwe. Ahead of the second ODI, Tahir admitted that he wants to leave the side with respect and do not want to overstay in the side.
“I’m trying to go as long as I can,” Tahir said. “Make sure I enjoy my game and I give what the team requires of me. I wouldn’t want to overstay in the team for too long. I want to leave with respect.
“It’s a bit early for me to say anything [about retirement],” he stated. “I’m loving the game at the moment. One thing I can say, if we win the World Cup then I’ll probably call it. It’s early for me, and I’m enjoying every opportunity I get to play for South Africa,” Imran Tahir added.
The 40-year-old has returned to the South Africa side after missing the tour of Sri Lanka. The management tried Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj in Sri Lanka while Tahir played in T20 league. He produced some scintillating performances which forced the management to bring him back.
Working hard on my fitness
Furthermore, Imran Tahir admitted that he was training very hard to maintain his fitness standards ahead of the World Cup.
“I’ve been working really hard on my fitness. We’ve got so many fit guys in our team, so if you want to keep the standards up, a guy like me, I need to be really up from a fitness point of view and make an impact. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m the kind of guy who loves challenges.
“I’m trying to focus my training and take that into the World Cup. I’m developing some bowling and fielding plans and things like that. And preparing for some difficult times when I might need to bowl, and I need to be really up for it whenever the captain needs me to bowl,” Imran Tahir concluded.
South Africa, meanwhile, will look to wrap up the series when they face the minnows in the second ODI.
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