India Tour of England: Eoin Morgan confirms, Ben Stokes to miss ODI & T20 series against India, 'To focus on Test until T20 World Cup'

India Tour of England – Ben Stokes to miss ODI & T20 Series: India captain Rohit Sharma will be relieved to know that England Test captain and flamboyant all-rounder Ben Stokes won’t be available. England limited-overs captain confirmed in a recent interview that Stokes will solely focus on Test cricket until winter and won’t be considered for the India and South Africa series. Follow IND vs ENG Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.

“Ben won’t play white-ball this summer. We just want him to go off and be himself as Test captain as it’s a huge responsibility. I don’t want Ben this summer, I want him in November. That’s when our race will be run,” Eoin Morgan told Daily Mail in an interview.

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India Tour of England: Eoin Morgan confirms, Ben Stokes to miss ODI & T20 series against India, ‘To focus on Test until T20 World Cup’

Ben Stokes was recently named the captain of the England Test team after Joe Root stepped down following a poor run of form for the team. England have won only one in their last 17 Test matches.

With Ben Stokes taking over the role, England’s Test revival and survival are both pinned on him. That is the reason, he will not be available for white-ball series before the T20 World Cup in Australia. Stokes last played a white-ball series was back in July 2021 against Pakistan when he had to return from injury prematurely due to a Covid outbreak in England camp.

His last T20 match for England remained against India in March of 2021. He played just 1 match in IPL 2021 and had to return home due to a thumb injury.

India Tour of England: Eoin Morgan confirms, Ben Stokes to miss ODI & T20 series against India, ‘To focus on Test until T20 World Cup’

England to experiment with squad: Morgan also hinted that England will look to experiment with the squad in India ODI and T20I series instead of fielding a full-strength squad.

“The India T20s will be a great gauge of where we’re at but the rest of the summer will be a delve into the depth of what we have in county cricket considering the injuries we have with bowlers,” Morgan said.

England injury list:

Mark Wood (Elbow)
Jofra Archer (Stress Fracture of the back, Elbow)
Olly Stone (Stress Fracture of the back)
Saqib Mahmood (Stress Fracture of the back)
Matthew Fisher (Stress Fracture of the back)
Chris Woakes (Shoulder, knee)
Sam Curran (Stress Fracture of the back)

India Tour of England: Eoin Morgan confirms, Ben Stokes to miss ODI & T20 series against India, ‘To focus on Test until T20 World Cup’

Morgan hints at retirement post T20 World Cup: The other big news for England cricket is that Eoin Morgan is all set to bid goodbye to cricket after the T20 World Cup.

“I’m always looking at my future. I’m very honest about where the team need to go but if at any stage I haven’t got the drive or don’t think I’m contributing enough I’ll be upfront about it. The 50-over World Cup next year is a long way away so I can’t comment on that now. The goal is the T20 World Cup,” Morgan said.

However, if not, he will step down as the captain. Jos Buttler is tipped to take over the job. Eoin Morgan also floated Chris Jordan and Moeen Ali’s names as captains.

“If you had asked me two years ago I would have said yes (to Buttler being a shoo-in as captain) but equally guys like Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan have been very strong leaders. I haven’t mentioned Ben Stokes because I think he should solely focus on his big job at hand, but we do have a number of candidates,” Eoin Morgan said.

As for India’s England tour, it will begin with the rescheduled 5th Test from July 1 before a three-match T20 and three-match ODI series.