"We want as many options as possible"- Eoin Morgan views The Hundred as a route into England's T20 World Cup squad
England captain Eoin Morgan has stated that players putting up good performances in The Hundred might be rewarded with a place in the T20 World Cup squad. The inaugural edition of the men's tournament is set to kick off later today (July 22).
The Hundred is primarily comprised of England starlets with only 18 overseas members taking part across the eight franchises.
England have built an impeccable squad as of late which is backed by their bench strength. In the absence of their regular first-team starlets, a squad largely composed of bench players trounced an almost full-strength Pakistan side 3-0 in the ODI series.
Despite an already well-rounded white-ball squad in place, Morgan asserts that players across domestic competitions are constantly monitored.
Morgan-led England one of the favourites for the T20 World Cup
The Three Lions also endured success in the recently concluded T20I series against Pakistan by a 2-1 margin. England were without some of their big guns including Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes. But despite the recent set of triumphs, Morgan believes that the team can still use more depth in the squad for the all-important T20 World Cup. He said:
"We want as many options as possible, we are continually monitoring different guys, there are certain players we look at that that could have avenues in. Guys that do things differently, left-armers, guys that bowl at pace or have a huge impact on the game, predominantly hit boundaries with the bat."
"There are still opportunities for guys to do that in the Hundred, and have an outside chance."
Morgan cited Liam Livingstone's case, who has been able to stake his claim in the squad with his recent set of outings. The all-rounder slammed the fastest century by an English player in T20Is during the series against Pakistan and was declared the Player of the Series as well.
England will partake in two away T20I series against Bangladesh and Pakistan before the T20 World Cup. They have been touted as one of the favourites to win the trophy in the UAE with an exceptionally well-rounded squad at their disposal.
The Hundred's Men's Edition will begin with a match-up between the Oval Invincibles and the Manchester Originals at the Oval.