"Eoin Morgan still has a lot to deliver"- Graeme Swann
Former England cricketer Graeme Swann has put his weight firmly behind white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan to continue playing the leadership role ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Speaking on Morgan's international future in a video published by cricket.com's YouTube channel, Swann hailed the 2019 World Cup winner as a charismatic captain who still has a lot to offer English cricket. Swann said:
"I think Morgan is such a good captain. For me, he would work his way into the side just as captain. Yes, he is not delivering with the bat but there are other white-ball batters around him who plays well. Morgan still has a lot to deliver. I won't hand anyone else the captaincy till the time he plays. The next captain would be Jos Buttler, who is waiting obviously, but he is not the same as Morgan. Morgan is a charismatic and born leader."
"So much flows from him. But for how much longer? This year, he averages 17.71 and strikes at 119 in 39 T20 games."
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Morgan's place in the team has come under the scanner because of his extended lean patch as a batter. Before the start of the tournament, the southpaw had even offered to drop himself from the starting XI. However, following the semi-final defeat, Morgan remained committed towards leading the white-ball teams' in the immediate future.
He said:
"I hope to be back, I am still offering enough and I love playing in this changing room. I'm incredibly proud to be their leader."
England in ICC events with Eoin Morgan as captain
2015 WC : Lost to Bangladesh and crashed out of WC at grp stage
2016 WT20 : Reached the final and lost to WI
2017 Champions Trophy : Unbeaten in grp stage before losing to Pak in SF
2019 WC : Beat NZ in the closest WC final https://t.co/hNph3EzVlw
England's dream of doing a 50 and 20-over double was shattered by New Zealand in the first semi-final in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
"I still think he’s got a lot of years in front of him" - Chris Silverwood on Eoin Morgan
Meanwhile, head coach Chris Silverwood recently firmly backed Morgan to continue as captain ahead of the next T20 World Cup. Silverwood said:
“He’s a very strong leader and has been for many years now. I still think he’s got a lot of years in front of him that he can give to this team and this team enjoy having him at the front."
Silverwood added:
"I think we are a stronger unit for it. For me, the longer he is there, the better. Morgs and I talk a lot, we are always chatting away. On the coach, on the way back after the game, his mind had already gone on to the next one, what do we need to do, what are we looking for."
While Morgan has the support of his coach, he will hope to shrug off his lean patch as a batter as soon as possible.