England skipper Eoin Morgan will miss the last two games of the three-match ODI series against India due to a split webbing. Jos Buttler will lead England while reserve batsman Dawid Malan has been added to the ODI squad.
England suffered a massive blow ahead of the second ODI as skipper Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of the ODI series’s remaining games against India. The 34-year-old sustained a split webbing between his thumb and index finger while fielding in the first ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.
The injury required him to get four stitches. Despite that, the left-handed middle-order batsman walked out to bat in the first game and scored 22 off 30 balls. However, Morgan went through fielding drills during the
the practice session on Thursday on the eve of the second ODI, but he faced discomfort and deemed himself unfit.
I had the hand re-dressed before the start of training today, but it quickly became apparent that I found myself protecting the injury and getting into the wrong positions to catch the ball. There’s nowhere to hide on the field in international cricket these days, especially in limited-over formats, so it didn’t require any great thought to make myself unavailable,
Eoin Morgan was quoted saying.
Morgan suffered the injury in the 41st over of India’s innings. It was a fierce cover drive from Hardik Pandya off Ben Stokes and the England skipper stopped the ball but ended up hurting himself in the process. Morgan admitted that it was a freak injury and it’s just a case of him letting the cut heal with time.
In Morgan’s absence, wicket-keeper batsman and vice-captain Jos Buttler will take over as captain for the remaining two games of this three-match ODI series. Jos Buttler has led England in a total of 10 international matches so far in his career. Six of those have come in ODIs and among those, four have resulted in England’s wins. Buttler last captained England in May 2019 in the fourth ODI against Pakistan.
It was a freak injury and it’s extremely frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s now just a case of letting the cut heal. I have every confidence in Jos and the rest of the squad coping without me,
Morgan further added.
England will also be without Sam Billings, who sustained a bruise on his left collar bone. Billings suffered the injury while fielding in the first ODI. The incident happened in the 33rd over of the Indian innings. Shikhar Dhawan pulled one short delivery from Mark Wood towards deep mid-wicket, and Billings ran across from the square-leg boundary and dived to stop the boundary. However, in the process, the 29-year-old Kent player injured his collar bone. He didn’t take the field for the rest of the innings, but he did come out to bat at No. 6 in England’s run chase. But the injury remained sore. He was ruled out of the second ODI. His availability for the third ODI will be taken on the eve of the game.
Dawid Malan, who was in the squad as a reserve player, has been drafted into the squad and may well slot in at No. 4. Meanwhile, Liam Livingstone is all set to make his ODI debut in the second ODI.
England are trailing 0-1 in this three-match ODI series, which is also a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. They have just 30 points from seven games so far, while India have gained 20 points from four games.
