Eoin Morgan has come a long way in international cricket. From playing from Ireland to switching for England and leading them in the final of World T20, Morgan has seen it all.
Currently playing for IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, the left hander expressed his views on rise of English cricket in shorter formats, influence of IPL and much more to Times of India.
How have you benefitted from the IPL?
The IPL has helped my game in a huge way. The first 2-3 years I came to the IPL, I saw my game improve immensely. Rubbing shoulders with the best players in the field, you gain huge amount of confidence training alongside them, playing with them and seeking advice from them. I was lucky to play with the likes of Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and had the opportunity of watching them closely as they went about their business. As a youngster making his way into international cricket, it was a quite a big thing for me.
Do you think sledging has come down significantly because players know each other better through IPL?
I don’t think sledging is a huge part of the game, and I think it’s a part which is blown up in the media. Sledging is something the public engages with, a lot more than the players.Sledging instances are far and few, and I feel it’s gone out of the game a little bit.England had an ordinary ODI World Cup last year, but turned things around in the World T20.
What according to you were the changes that were made in the last few months?
The biggest change in our team in the last year has been the way we played. The relaxed team atmosphere and an aggressive brand of cricket over the last 12 months have been the chief contributing factors of our success.Having said that, you can go into any team and build a strong culture, but you need to back it up with performances on the field and that’s exactly what our players have done. SRH is a unique team where a majority of their star players are left handers.
In batting, David Warner, yourself, Shikhar Dhawan, YuvrajSingh bat left while in the bowling Trent Boult, Ashish Nehra and Mustafizur bowl left. Would you label that as SRH’s USP?
I wouldn’t say so. One thing that’s going for us in this competition is that we have strong squad and we have good team culture. I guess that’s what the talking point of our side is.
You have been known for your audacious stroke-making. How much do you train specifically on such shots since one can’t just pull it off in the middle?
To be honest, I haven’t been practiing those shots. I have been keeping an open mind and looking to play as naturally as I can in this tournament.Obviously, one needs to practice those shots before you play them in a game or else it can go wrong.