England captain Morgan retires from international cricket

England’s white-ball captain Eoin Morgan has retired from international cricket with immediate effect, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Tuesday.

During his 13-year international career, the 35-year-old had led England to the 2019 ODI World Cup title — their first World title in the 50-overs format. He was also part of the England team that won the 2010 T20 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean.

Morgan is the all-time leading run-scorer and most-capped player for England men in both ODI and T20I matches.

During his seven-year tenure as ODI captain, he guided England to number one in the ICC world rankings, including notable series victories against all the major nations.

In his record-breaking 225 ODI caps, he scored 6,957 runs, including 13 hundreds at an average of 39.75. In his 126 matches as Captain, Morgan oversaw 76 victories with a win percentage of 60 per cent, the best win record by any England  ODI Captain in the history of the game.

He captained the Men’s T20I side on 72 occasions, equal to India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the most in T20 international cricket. In all, he represented England on 115 occasions scoring 2,458 runs. As a Test cricketer, he won 16 caps over a three-year period scoring two centuries.

He also holds the world record for the highest number of sixes in an ODI innings, with 17 against Afghanistan at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.

In 2020, he received a CBE for services to cricket. Morgan started his international career with Ireland, where he played 23 ODIs from 2006 to 2009.

“After careful deliberation and consideration, I am here to announce my retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.

“To call time on what has been without doubt the most enjoyable and rewarding chapter of my career hasn’t been an easy decision, but I believe now is the right time to do so, both for me, personally, and for both England white-ball sides I have led to this point,” Morgan said.

“From my start in the international arena with Ireland to winning the World Cup in 2019, I have never lost sight of how integral family support is to any international sportsperson. To my Mum and Dad, my wife, Tara, and our family around the world, thank you for your unconditional support throughout the good and more challenging times in my career. Without you all, this incredible journey would not have been possible.

“I must also thank my teammates, coaches, supporters, and those behind the scenes who have made my career and any successes possible. I am hugely proud of what I have achieved as a player and captain, but the things I will cherish and remember the most are the memories I made with some of the greatest people I know along the way.

“I have been lucky enough to play in two World Cup winning teams, but I believe the future for England’s white-ball teams is brighter than ever. We have more experience, more strength and more depth than ever before. I look forward to watching on with a huge level of excitement.

“To what lies ahead for me, I will continue to enjoy playing at a domestic level while I can. I’m really looking forward to playing and captaining London Spirit in the second edition of The Hundred this year.”

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