(Reuters) – England’s Eoin Morgan has retired from international cricket with immediate effect, the World Cup-winning white-ball captain said on Tuesday.
Morgan, who led England to 50-over World Cup glory in 2019, captained England in a record 126 ODIs and 72 T20s. His 118 wins as skipper across the two formats is also a record.
He retires with a slew of records to his name, including most ODI runs for England (6,957), most T20I runs for England (2,458) and most sixes for England in both formats.
“To call time on what has been without doubt the most enjoyable and rewarding chapter of my career hasn’t been an easy decision,” Morgan said.
“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.
“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.”
The 35-year-old, who made his ODI debut as a 16-year-old with Ireland in 2006 before he was called up by England in 2009, has played 248 ODIs and 115 T20Is, scoring 10,159 runs in total. He has also played in 16 tests, scoring 700 runs.
But injuries and a lack of runs in T20s and ODIs had raised questions about his form ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year as well as England’s defence of their 50-overs title in 2023.
“To what lies ahead for me, I will continue to enjoy playing at a domestic level while I can,” Morgan added.
“I’m really looking forward to playing and captaining London Spirit in the second edition of The Hundred this year.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
