London: England’s World Cup winning skipper Eoin Morgan is set to announce his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday after a career spanning 16 years during which he amassed over 10,000 runs across ODIs and T20Is.
According to a report in Sky Sports, the 35-year-old Dublin-born Morgan wanted to lead England at this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia but he had a change of heart after struggling with his form and fitness in the last 18 months.
Morgan captained England in the first two ODI games against the Netherlands this month but failed to open his account on both the occasion. He subsequently missed the third game due to a groin niggle.
Vice-captain Jos Buttler is likely to replace him as England skipper and the upcoming white-ball series against India could be his first assignment.
Morgan made his debut for Ireland in 2006 but then after three years he switched his alliance to England in 2009.
The elegant left-handed batter, who played in the middle-order, has so far scored 7,701 runs from 248 ODIs, after making his debut against Scotland.
He also featured in 115 T20 matches, amassing 2,458 runs, after making his debut in the format for England against the Netherlands in 2009.
The soft-spoken Morgan also featured in 16 Tests but managed to score only 700 runs and played his last Test in 2012 against Pakistan.
However, Morgan’s legacy will be defined by his seven and a half year rein as England’s limited over captain during which the team rose to the number one position in the world rankings in both ODI and T20 cricket.
He had taken over the reins of ODI captaincy from Sir Alastair Cook before the 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia-New Zealand and played a key part in revolutionizing the team’s cricket after their shock group stage exit in the quadrennial event.
Morgan along with then coach Trevor Bayliss breathed a fresh air into the English side, which encouraged the players to play a fearless brand of cricket, which eventually led them to win the World Cup in 2019 in their own back-yard.
His other achievements include leading his side to the final of the T20 2016 World Cup the semi-finals of the 2021 edition of the tournament.
