Reports: Eoin Morgan considering international retirement amid poor form and fitness concerns
The World Cup-winning captain of England, Eoin Morgan, is reportedly considering his future lately and may declare his exit from international cricket this week. In the recently concluded ODI series against the Netherlands in Amstelveen, the 35-year-old struggled with form and fitness issues before withdrawing from the third game citing a groin injury.
While the first ODI of the three-match series saw Morgan getting dismissed for a golden duck, the second game witnessed him walking back to the pavilion for a seven-ball duck. His form has been deteriorating recently, and his performance graph has seen a terrible low. That might also have been one of the reasons behind no franchise picking him during the IPL 2022 mega auctions.
Meanwhile, a report by The Guardian said that Morgan may be about to end a career that has transformed the English white-ball game over the past seven years. The southpaw surprised many by participating in a corporate game at the stadium on Saturday, but he has now canceled a scheduled visit for the cricket charity ‘Chance to Shine’ at the Hackney school that was scheduled for Tuesday.
Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali emerge as captaincy contenders
Jos Buttler, who has served as vice-captain since 2015 and has led the team on 13 occasions, is expected to take over as captain if Morgan decides to step down. Another recent substitute, Moeen Ali, might also be a contender. It is reasonable that Morgan is considering his time in the white-ball format given the English side is one of the strongest right now and they also gear up for not just the T20 World Cup this year but also will be defending the ODI World Cup next year.
Morgan has received big support from Rob Key and white-ball coach Matthew Mott. In his previous 28 international innings in the two white-ball forms, he only managed to bag two half-centuries. Morgan has certainly built one of the most threatening white-ball batting teams in cricket history and his successor would want to carry forward his legacy the same way.
