Morgan: I will lead England until 2019 but give up Test cricket

Test runs, stressed that he still wanted to play championship cricket for Middlesex so his technique would be sound enough to withstand the first 30 balls of a one-day innings.

Asked if he wanted to captain England until the World Cup – with the new Test captain Joe Root in his side – Morgan replied: “Yes, absolutely. That’s where all the plans are going towards, what we’re working towards as a side – so it will be great to be a part of it.”

Root is not even Morgan’s vicecaptain in 50- and 20-over internationals – Jos Buttler is – because England team director Andrew Strauss wants a separation of powers. Strauss said, when Root was appointed Test captain, that if England had the same captain in all three formats he would be “sleepwalking” from one assignment to the next, so demanding are the schedules.

“I think it’s important that I use him [Root] as much as I can and he does the same really,” Morgan said. “I suppose having him as Test captain in the side is a huge benefit to us – not just because he’s a great player but a great guy to have around.

“Being captain isn’t that easy a job, so coming back in and playing some white-ball cricket might be a bit of a release for him going through whatever difficult [Test] series there might be in the future.” Asked if Root aspired to lead the one-day team, Morgan replied: “I’ve no idea.”

Morgan will fly back from the Indian Premier League to captain England in the two ODIs against Ireland in early May before returning to India, then fly back for England’s training camp in Spain – starting on May 14 – to prepare for the Champions Trophy.

Morgan was sold for £240,000 but said it was “absolutely brilliant” that Stokes had gone for £1.7 million because “the way that Stokes plays epitomises the way we want to play within the side”.