'Alex Hales has to rebuild trust to get selected' - Eoin Morgan after winning T20I series against South Africa

Ever since he missed England’s World Cup bus last year after being banned for three weeks for recreational drug use, Alex Hales has remained a largely forgotten name. But that he is not out of the picture was made evident by the Three Lions’ limited-overs captain. According to the Irish-born dashing batsman, Hales is one of the best players in the world but has to rebuild trust with the national team before the door is opened for him again.

The 31-year-old Hales, who has a strike rate of 136-plus in T20Is and seven international hundreds, has not played for England since getting dropped from the preliminary squad for the World Cup after a report in the Guardian said he was serving a three-week ban for using the drug.

Hales thus missed a golden opportunity to become a member of a World Cup-winning squad as England went on to lift their maiden world title, beating New Zealand in a controversial thriller in the final.

“There was a breakdown in trust between Alex and the team,” BBC quoted Morgan after England won the three-match T20I series against South Africa on Sunday. Morgan belted 57 not out in just 22 balls by tonking seven sixes as the Three Lions beat the Proteas by five wickets in Centurion while chasing 223 runs in 20 overs.

Morgan finished as the highest run-getter with a tally of 136 and ended up both as the Man of the Match in Centurion and Man of the Series. England eventually clinched the series 2-1.

‘Hales one of the best players in the world’: Eoin Morgan

“When he was deselected, it was never down to performance. He is one of the best players in the world,” England’s only World Cup-winning captain in the 50 overs said, adding– “Moving forward, to regain that trust there needs to be a considerable amount of time.”

Hales recently finished as the second-highest scorer in the Big Bash League in Australia where he made 576 runs for Sydney Thunder, who lost in the Challenger to Melbourne Stars, the runners-up. Hales will also play for Karachi Kings in the upcoming Pakistan Super League before featuring in The Hundred – England’s maiden 100-ball franchise competition.

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