England's world-cup winning captain Eoin Morgan's future with the national team is in doubt, with a report by the Guardian saying that the veteran could announce his retirement from international cricket this week, ahead of India's white-ball series against his team.
According to reports, Morgan is understood to have been mulling his future in recent days. The 35-year-old has had to battle a dip in form as well as fitness problems. His problems were further compounded after consecutive ducks in the one-day international series against the Netherlands before he pulled out of the third match with what was officially described as a 'groin issue'.
If Morgan does step down as the skipper, many believe that swashbuckling batter Jos Buttler is the most likely candidate to take over the captaincy. Buttler has been England's vice-captain since 2015 and has led the team 13 times. Moeen Ali is another player to have deputised in recent times.
Despite his issues, Morgan has been backed by new limited-overs head coach Matthew Mott, as well as Rob Key, the new director of England men’s cricket. But he has made just two half‑centuries in his last 28 innings across two white-ball formats. In interviews before the Netherlands tour, he admitted he was feeling his age and struggling to recover physically after matches, telling Sky Sports, “If I don’t think I am good enough or I don’t feel I am contributing to the team, then I will finish.”
However, none can doubt Morgan’s place in the annals of English cricket history, with the star having switched allegiances from Ireland in 2009 and initially slotted into the England middle order as a dynamic left-hander with a unique ability to hit the ball to all parts of the ground.
Morgan took over the captaincy of the ODI team from Alastair Cook ahead of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and he held on to the role, becoming the catalyst for a revolution alongside former head coach Trevor Bayliss.
Meanwhile, their next challenge is India in white-ball cricket, with three T20Is and three ODIs slated to kick off on July 7 at the Ageas Bowl. This is then followed by six more fixtures against South Africa.
India also faces England next week in the rescheduled fifth Test from their 2021 series and might be without their captain Rohit Sharma, who tested positive for Covid-19 and is now in self-isolation.
