Morgan challenges England players to push T20 World Cup claims in ODIs

Eoin Morgan dismissed any notion of England’s one-day international series against India being an anti-climax as he challenged those on the periphery of the white-ball sides to use the experience to push their T20 World Cup claims.

A lot of attention has been on the Test and T20 assignments of a seven-week tour which will conclude on Sunday after the last of three ODIs in a series where Jofra Archer,

JoeRootandChrisWoakesare high-profile absentees.

Moeen Ali was conspicuouslyunusedineachofthefive T20s as India exposed one or two flaws in England’s set-up to claim a 3-2 victory and burnish their credentials ahead of theglobaltournamenttheyare hosting this year.

But the off-spinning allrounder, alongside the likes of Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone and Reece Topley, may come into the reckoning in Pune this week, and Morgan insists the matches will be a useful exercise.

Askedwhetherthoseonthe margins can put themselves in the frame for a squad place at the World Cup, Morgan replied: “Absolutely. Given the squads are very similar, we see both skill sets as very valuable.

“Playing any international cricket is a huge opportunity forguyswhohavebeenhereon thefringesandnotmadeselection so far. We see the 50-over format between the two T20 WorldCupsasabuildingblock for our squad.

“It has been an extremely productive tour so far. The biggest picture is always the World Cup in both white-ball formats. You don’t always have to win every series in order to win a World Cup.

“You continuously need to get better, need to be tested as a side, need to fail in order to learn. That involves losing, which isn’t fun but it is part of the journey.”

WhileMorganwaskeeping his cards close to his chest in terms of selection, Ben Stokes is likely to feature in his first ODI since his starring role in the 2019 World Cup final – helping England to a historic victory.

Morganadded:“Anyopportunity we have to get him in a white-ball game, which has been few and far between, is brilliant. I think he really enjoys his white-ball cricket and it’s important to keep him engaged with that.

“If you don’t play a format for a long time, it can show a bit of neglect in certain parts of the game and we know how demanding the rest of the formats are, both on his body and his mind so it’s great to have him round.”