Jos Buttler may lead England in the 2023 World Cup: Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan feels that England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan might not be around the team during the 2023 World Cup and vice-captain Jos Buttler will take the saddle in his absence.
England's first World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan is one of the most revered figures in the country's cricketing circles. However, since the marquee tournament in 2019, the 34-year-old has seen a major slump in his ODI numbers.
Interacting with Cricbuzz, Michael Vaughan claimed Eoin Morgan is prioritizing the twin T20 World Cups of 2021 and 2022. The former England skipper added that although Morgan won't be "pushed" out of the team, the current ODI captain could make a conscious decision to hand over the reins ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
"I heard him the other day and he was just so focused on talking about the T20 World Cups. I just get a sense that he wants to get to this [T20] World Cup first and get to the next one. He just wants to take small segments of his career and he's not looking too far ahead. By the time the next [50-over] World Cup in India, 2023, I have to be honest, he might not be in the team by then. He may have moved on. He will certainly not get pushed out, he'll decide upon himself when he wants to move on," said Michael Vaughan.
The former England captain added:
"There were whispers in 2019, when he lifted the trophy that he was going to step aside from the 50-over game. I still think that's possible that by the time we get to the 2023 World Cup, Jos Buttler may be leading the side. He's a fine fine player Eoin Morgan but as his numbers suggest, he's not been in great nick of late."
In four ODI series since lifting the trophy, Eoin Morgan has managed averages of 10, 71 and 29.33. The second series was against Ireland where Morgan scored his only hundred since the tournament.
The middle-order batsman looked off-color in the ongoing series against India as well. In the 5 T20Is, he mustered just 33 runs at an average of 11. He followed it up with a 30 (37) in the first ODI before splitting his webbing and passing the baton to Jos Buttler for the remaining two games.
England will miss Eoin Morgan's calm leadership and his tactical nous: Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan remarked that although England won't miss Eoin Morgan's batting against India, they will certainly feel the loss of his leadership acumen.
"He [Eoin Morgan] hasn't been in great form since the World Cup in 2019. He got one hundred against Ireland. He hasn't had a great deal of opportunity [as well]. For Eoin Morgan and the level of what he has been playing at for a few years, you would expect a few more runs. They [England team] are not going to miss his runs because he hasn't been getting too many but they will certainly miss his calm leadership and his tactical nous," said Michael Vaughan.
The 2nd India-England ODI is underway in Pune. Jos Buttler has previously captained England on 6 occasions, winning 4 and losing 2.