World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan is reportedly set to step down as the captain of England’s limited-overs teams after failing to do well with the bat.
Eoin Morgan’s reign as England’s limited-overs captain could be nearing its end. The left-handed batsman was named England’s ODI captain way back in December 2014 after Alastair Cook’s reign came to an end. Just few months later, he suffered a major setback when England bowed out of the 2015 World Cup at the group stage.
He, however, went on to transform England into one of the best limited-overs team and the results followed soon. In 2016, Morgan led England to the final of the T20I World Cup before guiding the country to their first-ever 50-over World Cup in 2019. At present, England are widely regarded as the best and the most dangerous limited-overs team in the world.
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But while England have kept doing well in the white-ball format under Morgan the captain, Morgan the batsman has been struggling for quite some time now. Recently, he registered ducks in the first two ODIs in the Netherlands before missing the third game with a groin injury.
The twin failures against the Netherlands were not out of the blue. Morgan has struggled to do well with the bat for months now. Since winning the 2019 World Cup, he has scored only one century which came against his native Ireland. Since September 2020, he has made just one half-century in 26 innings for England across the 50-over and T20 formats.
With Morgan showing little signs of recovering his form and age not on his side either, recent media reports from England have suggested that he is likely to step down as captain.
Eoin Morgan’s replacement:
According to a report in The Telegraph, Jos Buttler is a strong contender to replace Eoin Morgan as England’s limited-overs captain. While many had predicted that this year’s T20I World Cup would have been Morgan’s last tournament as England captain, it looks highly unlikely now.
The tournament is set to begin in October and England could name a new captain soon. With form not on his side, Morgan could announce his departure imminently, allowing England to use the limited-overs series with India and South Africa next month to develop the team without him. Apart from Buttler, Moeen Ali is another strong candidate to replace Morgan.