England captain Eoin Morgan has issued a big statement ahead of their T20 World Cup campaign that starts against West Indies in Dubai on October 23. Morgan said he would drop himself if he felt his team has a better chance of winning the multi-team tournament without him.
Morgan’s statement has come following his lean patch with the willow throughout 2021. In the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), the left-handed batter could score only 133 runs in 17 matches at a dreadful average of 11 and a strike rate of 95.68. Moreover, Morgan’s highest score in T20 international for England this year is just 28.
“It’s always something I’ve said – it’s always an option,” said Morgan when asked if he would leave himself out as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“I’m not going to stand in the way of a team winning the World Cup. I’ve been short of runs, but my captaincy has been pretty good as it goes. I’ve always managed to compartmentalise both and treat them as two different challenges. Not being a bowler and being a bit older, and not contributing as much in the field, I’ve loved the role of captain. You get two bites at the cherry impacting the game,” he added.
Morgan also mentioned that he has experienced some rough patches previously but has always managed to come back in the form. The Dublin-born pointed out the nature of T20 cricket, and his batting position in the team always requires him to go big from the word go, and he will continue doing that unless the team want him to change.
“As regards my batting, I wouldn’t be standing here if I hadn’t come out of every bad run of form that I’d ever had. The nature of T20 cricket and where I bat means I always have to take quite high-risk options, and I’ve come to terms with that. It’s just something you deal with, it’s the nature of the job, so I’m going to continue taking those risks if the team dictates they need them; if they don’t, I won’t,” Morgan added further.
