IND vs ENG | Eoin Morgan ruled out of last two ODIs; Jos Buttler to captain England

IND vs ENG | Eoin Morgan ruled out of last two ODIs; Jos Buttler to captain England

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Morgan will miss the last two ODIs

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England skipper Eoin Morgan, who sustained a finger injury in the 1st ODI, has been ruled out of the last two ODIs, as a result of which vice-captain Jos Buttler will be leading the side. Sam Billings, too, will miss the 2nd ODI, and thus standby-batsman Dawid Malan has been drafted into the squad.

England will be without their skipper Eoin Morgan for the final two ODIs of the three-match series as the ECB have confirmed that the injury the 34-year-old sustained during the first game has rendered him unfit for the second and third ODIs. Morgan, whilst fielding in the first innings, sustained a split webbing between his thumb and index finger, but while the English skipper managed to bat with the pain on Tuesday, he won’t be fit enough to take to the field for the final two games. England, as a result, will be led by stand-in skipper Jos Buttler in the final two ODIs, both of which are must-win games for the Three Lions. 

“Morgan sustained a split webbing between his thumb and index finger in Tuesday’s series opener, an injury that required four stitches. The captain went through a fielding drill at the start of training at the MCA Stadium on Thursday and afterwards declared himself unfit,” the ECB said in an official release.

“Jos Buttler will captain England in Morgan’s absence and Liam Livingstone will make his ODI debut.”

Morgan’s injury means that top-order batsman Liam Livingstone will be making his debut on Friday, but there could be a second new name in the starting XI as the experienced Dawid Malan has been drafted into the squad as a cover for Sam Billings. Billings injured his collar-bone in the first ODI and has been declared unfit for the 2nd ODI, thus there is every chance that the world’s number one T20I batsman, Malan, could play his second-ever ODI, having made his debut back in 2019.

"Billings did not train on Thursday after he suffered a bruised left collar bone while fielding in Tuesday’s opening match, and the injury remained sore on Thursday. Dawid Malan, with the tour party as cover, has been drafted into the squad and is available for selection,” the ECB confirmed.

The second of the three ODIs will be played in Pune on Friday. 

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