Eoin Morgan concedes that his Test career is over, still wants to captain ODI team in 2019 World Cup
What’s the story?
England’s limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan, was subject to criticism in the last few months of 2016 due to his dismal run of form with the bat. But the English captained silenced his critics by having a run-filled limited-overs series against India.
Morgan spoke to the media ahead of his side’s warm-up game against UWI Vice-Chancellor’s XI. "I think Test cricket has gone for me, I don't think I'll ever play Test cricket again. The aim is to captain at the 2019 World Cup. That's where all the plans are going towards, what we're working towards as a side. It will be great to be a part of it," he stated.
In case you didn’t know...
Morgan has not played for England in the traditional whites for over five years now. His last Test match was way back in 2012 and he has scored just 700 runs in the 16 matches he has played for the national team.
The 30-year-old had listed himself for a base price of INR 2 crores in the recently-concluded IPL auctions and was purchased by Kings XI Punjab for the same amount.
The heart of the matter
Morgan has 173 ODIs and 67 T20Is under his belt and has captained England in more than 60 international matches. Despite having an unimpressive year with the bat in 2016, the skipper returned to form in style against India. He scored a cumulative 281 runs in the three ODIs and three T20Is he played last month. His century in the second ODI went in vain after England fell short by 15 runs and lost 2-1 in both the formats.
The England skipper will lead the side in the Champions Trophy at home later this year, and he is hopeful of extending his captaincy stint in limited overs till 2019. However, he feels that he might never be able to revive his Test career again. Perhaps this has forced him to focus solely on performing well in the limited overs format.
However, Morgan emphasised that he would keep practising with the red ball because he believes that it will assist him to overcome the challenges encountered during the first 30 balls of an ODI.
What’s next?
Morgan had plans to play a few county cricket matches for Middlesex before he was auctioned by the Punjab-based franchise. Before the commencement of the IPL, his side will face West Indies in three ODIs starting on the 3rd of March.
He is also set to miss two matches during the IPL season to lead the England team in two ODIs against Ireland at Bristol and Lord’s.
Sportskeeda’s Take
In spite of having over 5000 first-class runs, Morgan never made an impression in the Test circuit. He has definitely played his last Test match but his calm and inventive mind will benefit the English side in the limited overs formats.
Given his ability to perform in crunch situations, we feel that it is likely Morgan will remain the captain of the team at least till 2019.