Former England captain and commentator Michael Vaughan believes that questions about the future of Eoin Morgan as captain will arise with the end of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
He also opined that if Morgan has got the desire and hunger to lead England in next year's ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, then he has got all the right to do so, but if he feels the time has come to hand over the leadership, then he should be left to make his own decision.
Vaughan wrote in his column for The Daily Telegraph: “The end of a tournament inevitably prompts questions about the future of an England captain but Eoin Morgan should carry on if he feels he has the ambition and appetite to take the team to next year's Twenty20 World Cup.”
He added, “But if he also feels it is time to go then that is fine too. He has achieved so much with England that he should be left to make whatever decision he feels is right for him and the team. Eoin will know when it is time to move on, you just do as an England captain. It is not up to us to decide.”
The former skipper also lauded Morgan for his excellent captaincy and said it would be very hard for England to find another captain with the current skipper’s temperament.
Vaughan further explained, “Personally, I think his leadership is imperative to the team, especially in Twenty20 cricket. The more I watch T20 cricket the more I realize the importance of leadership. If you have a captain who knows how to manoeuvre his troops, set the right fields, and stay level-headed under huge pressure then you have a massive advantage as a team.
Morgan is superb in tight situations. He never loses his cool. He is impossible to read or rattle. It will be very hard for England to find another captain with his level-headedness.”
Meanwhile, the commentator mentioned that England should not be doom and gloom about their five-wicket loss to New Zealand in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Abu Dhabi while pointing out the absence of key players like Jason Roy and Tymal Mills.
He said, “It should not be doom and gloom about England's defeat. It happens in T20 cricket. England is a fantastic team; they will know this was a massive opportunity missed to win another World Cup. But they were badly hit by the losses of Jason Roy and Tymal Mills during the tournament and Jofra Archer before it. They also did not have Ben Stokes either.”
England conceded 23, 14, and 20 runs in the final three overs of the semi-final, as New Zealand chased down 167 with an over to spare to book a place in the final, and Vaughan said the death bowling is the only area of concern for the side in the T20 format.
He signed off by saying, “In the end, their Achilles heel - death bowling - cost them a crucial knockout game. We cannot be too harsh because Mills and Archer would have made a huge difference and were unavailable but Morgan will know it is an area they have to improve. The next tournament is in Australia on good batting tracks that suit England but it will be irrelevant if they cannot bowl at the death. It is their only area of concern. They were controlling the game and all of a sudden one over-shifted momentum to New Zealand and that is all it takes in T20 cricket.”
