Eoin Morgan discloses why he pulled out of the must-win contest against SA

England’s limited-over captain, Eoin Morgan, finally revealed the reason why he opted to sit out in the crunch game against South Africa today in the Third T20 International at Cardiff today. Morgan cited out that it was the right thing to do looking at the future development of the team.

After being in a comfortable place to win the second T20I of the series, England fell short of the required target by just three runs. It was expected that Eoin Morgan would lead the side in the must-win encounter today in the third match of the series. Instead, Jos Buttler was seen leading the side whereas Morgan took part in the commentary box, perplexing many.

However, following the theme of the series, with a variety of fresh legs from both sides, Morgan thought it was the ideal thing to do. The skipper emphasized the importance of giving an opportunity to as many players as possible in the series, keeping the development of the team in the farsight.

Morgan checking out the bench strength in the series

“We recognize the series as a big opportunity to have a look at a younger group of players.  It’s an important part of our development, and our success in 50-over cricket and T20 has been down to the strength in depth we’ve had in the side. If it was a case where I could go on and captain, I would. But this is an important part of our development” commented Eoin Morgan in an interview with Sky Sports.

“It’s a very difficult situation to be in. I love playing international cricket, but unfortunately, that is the case today. We remain very confident we can win the game with the team we have and put on a really entertaining show. It’s tough, but it’s a call you have to make looking to the long-term. It’s down to the quality of players that we have. It is a big call. But we haven’t been shy of making big calls in the past.” added the 30-year old. David Malan replaced Morgan and made a statement about him being one for the future already in the match.