"Thought my best chance was to be picked up in the second round" - Eoin Morgan on his IPL 2022 auction snub
England's limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan has opened up about being snubbed at the IPL 2022 mega auction held last month. The veteran batter said he had hoped that a franchise will bid for him in the latter stages of the event; but it was not to be.
Morgan was one of the many unsold players amongst the 590 that went under the hammer. The left-hander, who debuted in the IPL in 2010, set his base price at 1.5 crores. But the former Kolkata Knight Riders captain found no takers.
No bids for Eoin Morgan #IPLAuction https://t.co/wCaFt6JQSI
Speaking to the Evening Standard, the 35-year old stated he had hoped the franchises would go after him should they need an experienced T20 batter or captain.
Morgan also said he has decided to take a break ahead of England's crucial assignments later in the year.
"I thought my best chance was to be picked up in the second round once squads had been put together, if someone needed help as a reserve middle order, experienced player, captain, whatever. But by the time the first round finished, pretty much every team had boxed that off, so I had no chance. I won’t play any cricket for two months at least, regardless of opportunities that present themselves. I have decided to take time away given the year we have ahead."
It's worth noting that the Irishman had a torrid IPL 2021 with the bat. Although the Knight Riders made it to the final, the skipper managed only 133 runs in 17 games at 11.08. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, the World Cup-winning captain scored only 40 runs in six matches, striking at 119.30.
"I will be using this break to recharge" - Eoin Morgan
The World Cup-winning captain admitted that he hasn't scored as many runs as he would have liked in recent times, but hoped to work on his issues during this break and iron out the problems. He added:
"It’s a fact that I have not scored enough runs. I’d agree. I am viewing it as a challenge that I have been through before and I’m hoping to come out the other side. I will be using this break to recharge, but also to have a little bit of time to work on things that you don’t have time to work on while you are in competition."
New Zealand are in the final of the #T20WorldCup 2021 🎉
#ENGvNZ | bit.ly/T20WC-SF1 https://t.co/FPGC6bK2U7
Morgan, who led England to their inaugural World Cup title, is likely to stay in the role for the T20 World Cup in Australia this year. They were highly dominant in last year's edition before crashing out in the semi-final.