Joe Root might not have found a place in England’s T20I squad for the three-match series against Australia but he has a future in the shortest format, skipper Eoin Morgan said on Thursday (September 3).

See Also: Steve Smith surprised as England overlooks Joe Root for T20I series

According to Morgan, Test captain Root, who was included in England’s ODI squad for the upcoming series versus Australia, was better off returning to Yorkshire to play county cricket rather than staying with the squad.

“We’ve spoken to Joe and he certainly does have a future,” Morgan told reporters ahead of Friday’s series opener in Southampton.

“The conversation was surrounding Joe not getting into the best 11 at the moment, but also we didn’t want to carry him around and not play any cricket.

“Joe wants to play T20 cricket and put his best case forward, particularly when he doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to go back to Yorkshire and play T20 cricket. We felt this was a really good opportunity to do that.”

Morgan also acknowledged that England lacks a middle-order batsman who can help accelerate the run rate, especially in the absence of all-rounder Ben Stokes, who missed the last two Tests against Pakistan to visit his ailing father in New Zealand.

“There are periods where… guys will have opportunities to bat in their normal position or elsewhere,” Morgan remarked.

“One of the challenges we do have down the line is trying to find a lower-order batter that can come in and play in an aggressive manner from ball one.”

Australia holds the No. 1 position in ICC T20I rankings for teams and Morgan reckoned the tourists would be favourites going into the series.

“They have their strongest squad here and so will probably be putting in their best 11,” Morgan said, adding that playing the series without spectators due to COVID-19 pandemic would not affect them in any way.

“I don’t think it bothers them. Some guys really enjoy playing away from home.”

(Inputs from Reuters)