Morgan out to turn England into champions
ENGLAND captain Eoin Morgan leads his team into a Twenty20 series with India here today – but will keep his focus firmly fixed on the main business of preparing for an assault on the Champions Trophy this summer.
The three-match series feels like a bit of an afterthought following the pulsating one-day series that India won 2-1.
But Morgan believes there are now many similarities between the 20 and 50-over formats.
He said: “What we’re seeing now is that your 50-over team is almost identical to your T20 team. You have to show the same risk level and skill level in both forms.
“Around the 2015 World Cup you might have had three or four changes between the teams but now we have only one or two T20 specialists coming in.”
The captain’s view also reflects the change in England’s tactics and mindset since the dreadful 2015 World Cup. Their 50-over displays often now feel a lot more like T20s.
After this tour, England have a threematch ODI series in the Caribbean before kicking off the home summer with 50-over games against Ireland and South Africa followed by the Champions Trophy, which starts against Bangladesh at the Oval on June 1.
Morgan admitted that these T20 matches provide the perfect shop window for any England players who have designs on a money-spinning contract in the Indian Premier League. Morgan is one of that group but he has already committed to leading the side against Ireland and so is only available for a short period of the IPL.
Other players – including Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, Jason Roy and Ben Stokes – hope to play for most or all of the tournament, subject to the approval of team boss Andrew Strauss.
The IPL auction is scheduled for the start of next month and
LINE-UPS India v England
1st T20 international, Kanpur
India (possible): V Kohli (capt), L Rahul, S Raina, MS Dhoni, Y Singh, H Pandya, P Rasool, A Mishra, B Kumar, J Bumrah, A Nehra.
England (possible): J Roy, S Billings, J Root, E Morgan (capt), J Buttler, B Stokes, M Ali, L Dawson, C Jordan, L Plunkett, T Mills. Start time: 11am GMT
TV: Sky Sports 2 10.30am Morgan said: “It’s a massive opportunity for guys who might have been fifth on the list for franchises to be elevated to third or fourth.
“But our guys have put in good performances over a number of years so even if they don’t shoot the lights out in these three games it doesn’t mean they won’t get picked up.
“India is a great place to play T20 cricket so everybody is looking forward to it. The guys are feeling a lot more confident than maybe they were after game two of the one-day series. They did a lot of hard work and didn’t get much reward.”
England played superbly in the World T20 tournament in India last spring before losing in heartbreaking fashion in the last over of the final.
“Confidence and momentum are big words in T20 cricket and, having a win under our belt, we’re looking forward to what could be a very exciting series,” said Morgan.
He hopes that paceman Tymal Mills can make his mark in his second international appearance.
Injury-plagued Mills, 24, is capable of ferocious speed and Morgan said: “He has had a fantastic winter on two fronts – the levels of fitness he has shown with his injuryprone past has been great and allowed him to play a lot of T20 cricket.
“Being able to bowl and to play consistently is a huge positive. To bowl at the pace he is at the moment is even better for us.”
Indian captain Virat Kohli, though, played down Mills’ potential influence. “They have brought him in as a T20 specialist and he might have a set of skills that are required for this format but I have faced many 90mph bowlers before – 90 miles an hour is no problem,” said Kohli.
Batsman Joe Root has recovered from the minor groin injury that kept out of the final ODI in Kolkata, while Mills is expected to take the place of fellow left-armer David Willey, who is out with a shoulder injury.