- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Sarwar Alam
England captain Eoin Morgan will miss the last two one-day internationals against India in Pune, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced Thursday.
The batsman has been ruled out after sustaining a split in the webbing between the thumb and index finger of his right hand while fielding during England’s 66-run defeat in Tuesday’s series opener, an injury that required four stitches.
Former Ireland international Morgan went through a fielding drill during training at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Thursday and afterwards declared himself unfit.
Jos Buttler will captain 50-over world champions England in Morgan’s absence, with Liam Livingstone set to make his ODI debut in Friday’s second match of the series.
“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,” said Morgan in an ECB statement.
“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,” the 2019 World Cup-winning skipper added.
“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.”
England batsman Sam Billings will also be unavailable for Friday’s second match, with a decision on his availability for Sunday’s final match to be taken in due course.
Billings did not train on Thursday after he suffered a bruised left collarbone while fielding in Tuesday’s first ODI.
Fellow batsman Dawid Malan, with the tour party as cover, has been drafted into the squad and is available for selection.
