England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan likely to retire from international cricket soon
England’s ODI and T20I skipper Eoin Morgan, who led their resurgence in white-ball cricket after the 2015 World Cup debacle, is likely to retire from international cricket soon. The left-handed southpaw has been struggling with his form and fitness for a while now. Therefore, he contemplating retiring in the upcoming weeks.
As per a report from The Guardian, courtesy of his prolonged battle with the form and fitness, Eoin Morgan has been considering retirement for the last few days. He was instrumental in ending England’s ODI World Cup drought as they won the ICC 2019 World Cup under his leadership. However, Morgan feels that under current circumstances around his form and recurring injury issues, it would be tough for him to lead the English side in the 2023 World Cup.
Eoin Morgan has averaged a lowly 16.67 in T20Is in 2021 and only managed an average of 15 in only two T20Is he has played in 2022. He recently featured in the ODI series against the Netherlands and failed to open his account in the first two ODI’s. Morgan sat out of the 3rd ODI due to a groin injury and it might be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
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Jos Buttler is in line to take over England’s captaincy if Eoin Morgan retires
If Morgan does announce his retirement from international cricket, his deputy Jos Buttler is likely to take over the white-ball captaincy. The wicketkeeper-batter also led England in the 3rd ODI against the Netherlands in Morgan’s absence.
“If I don’t think I am good enough or I don’t feel I am contributing to the team, then I will finish,” Eoin Morgan had told Sky Sports ahead of the Netherlands series.
If indeed he retires, it will be the conclusion of a wonderful career, not just as a batter but as a leader and a captain. He played 248 ODIs in his career and scored 7701 runs at an average of over 39 and a strike rate of 91.17. Morgan amassed 2458 runs in 115 T20Is averaging 28.58 at a strike rate of 136.18. Eoin Morgan also represented England in 16 Tests and scored 700 runs in the red-ball cricket.
