Eoin Morgan's Future As England's Captain Is 'Not Up To Us To Decide', Says Michael Vaughan

Cricket Image for Eoin Morgan's Future As English Captain Is 'Not Up To Us To Decide', Says Michael (Image Source: Google)

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that skipper Eoin Morgan's future as captain can only be decided by him. He added that if Morgan has got the desire and hunger to lead England in next year's Mens T20 World Cup, then he has got all the right to do so. England, chasing a rare double of holding two white-ball World Cups at the same time, lost to New Zealand by five wickets in the first semi-final in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

"The end of a tournament inevitably prompts questions about the future of an England captain but Eoin Morgan should carry on if he feels he has the ambition and appetite to take the team to next year's Twenty20 World Cup. But if he also feels it is time to go then that is fine too. He has achieved so much with England that he should be left to make whatever decision he feels is right for him and the team. Eoin will know when it is time to move on, you just do as an England captain. It is not up to us to decide," wrote Vaughan in his column for The Daily Telegraph on Friday.

Morgan holds the record for most wins in T20Is by a captain, going past India's MS Dhoni and Afghanistan's Asghar Afghan. Vaughan feels that it will be very hard to find a captain in England of Morgan's temperament.

"Personally, I think his leadership is imperative to the team, especially in Twenty20 cricket. The more I watch T20 cricket the more I realise the importance of leadership. If you have a captain who knows how to manoeuvre his troops, set the right fields, and stay level-headed under huge pressure then you have a massive advantage as a team. Morgan is superb in tight situations. He never loses his cool. He is impossible to read or rattle. It will be very hard for England to find another captain with his level-headedness."

Vaughan mentioned that the loss of key players to injuries before and during the tournament combined with death bowling being a point of concern caused'England's undoing in the semi-final against New Zealand. England conceded 23, 14, and 20 in the last three overs as New Zealand chased down 167 with an over to spare.

"It should not be doom and gloom about England's defeat. It happens in T20 cricket. England is a fantastic team; they will know this was a massive opportunity missed to win another World Cup. But they were badly hit by the losses of Jason Roy and Tymal Mills during the tournament and Jofra Archer before it. They also did not have Ben Stokes either."

"In the end, their Achilles heel - death bowling - cost them a crucial knockout game. We cannot be too harsh because Mills and Archer would have made a huge difference and were unavailable but Morgan will know it is an area they have to improve. The next tournament is in Australia on good batting tracks that suit England but it will be irrelevant if they cannot bowl at the death. It is their only area of concern. They were controlling the game and all of a sudden one over-shifted momentum to New Zealand and that is all it takes in T20 cricket," concluded Vaughan.