Eoin Morgan contemplates stepping down from captaincy duties if he doesn't recover from back injury
Eoin Morgan has stated that he may step down from his role as England's limited-overs captain if he fails to recover in time from the recurring back injury that has plagued him for long now. Morgan suffered a back spasm during the World Cup, leaving the field during the win against the West Indies.
Morgan led England to history last month when he became the first England team to win the World Cup, triumphing in a thrilling finale in a controversial boundary count-back rule. However, he was suffering an injury to his back and was even forced to withdraw from Middlesex's match against Sussex last week due to the pain. In the wake of that, the English skipper has hinted that he may step down as England's white-ball captain due to a back injury.
"I need more time to think, that's the honest answer," Morgan told Test Match Special when asked if he would lead England into the T20 World Cup next year. "It's a big decision, a big commitment. Given the injury that I went through in the World Cup, I need time to get fully fit. I actually need the season to end pretty soon so I can have that time to physically get fit and guarantee that it's not an injury risk between this year and next, and then I'll be able to make a call on that," Morgan told BBC.
Morgan has been playing for Middlesex in the T20 Blast after a two-week break from the game, but he admitted in another interview that he felt "physically and mentally cooked" after the World Cup. Morgan admitted that the final tired the cricketers and with the Ashes approaching fast, they had a very little time to adjust their regime and it was only natural for them to feel so.
"The comedown from the high of that final is bound to tire guys out a little bit. The selectors and the coach would have sat down and given the guys who needed rest as much as they can. There's only so much you can do in preparation for an Ashes series, but I think they've done what they can. Naturally, it's going to feel different. You're never going to be able to replicate what happened again, or the high, but it's an Ashes series - people don't need firing up for it. I'd lose my left arm to play in it and everybody knows that. To be in that changing room now with the opportunity of contributing in the series and hopefully winning it is huge."
Although he is likely to be available for the rest of the Blast, it is unlikely that he will play in the final three Championship games of the season because of other commitments. He was due to play for Dublin Chiefs in the Euro T20 Slam before the tournament was cancelled, and will return to the T10 League in Abu Dhabi in November.
