Eoin Morgan reveals his family were deeply offended by criticism of his decision to skip Bangladesh tour
Limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan has revealed that the criticism he received following his controversial decision to skip England’s tour of Bangladesh caused deep offence to his family.
Morgan, together with opener Alex Hales, declined to travel to Bangladesh in October amid security concerns, a stance which England director of cricket Andrew Strauss said was “disappointing”.
A number of the England team spoke out in support of Morgan, although reactions were stronger elsewhere, in particular those of former captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain, who both claimed the 30-year-old had shown a lack of leadership.
When asked about the coverage of him pulling out of the Bangladesh series, Morgan said: “To be honest, I didn’t see much of it. When things are announced like that, you can plan how to deal with it, and my way of dealing with it was to get away from things, which I did.
“So I didn’t see a great deal of it. I think my family saw a lot of it and were very offended, but that’s part and parcel of being in the limelight sometimes. Certainly standing here I don’t regret the decision.
“When I made the decision, I considered all the consequences and I felt very comfortable with the decision.”
Left-hander Morgan is back at the helm as England prepare for three one-day internationals against India, the first of which starts on Sunday in Pune, as well as three Twenty20 internationals.
Lancashire’s Jos Buttler received praise for the way he stepped into the breach and led England during their 2-1 one-day success in Bangladesh, and Morgan is not prepared to take his long-term place in the team for granted.
“Nothing is a certain, absolutely nothing,” added the Dubliner, who has played 170 one-day internationals. “I like to think things have gone pretty well for us over a small period of time and we’ve had a little bit of success.
“You’re always out to prove how good you are and what you can do. I’m always looking to win games of cricket and score runs.”
Batsman Joe Root, meanwhile, has provided England with a boost and will join his team-mates in Mumbai on Thursday after the birth of his first child on Saturday.
Morgan said: “He [Root’s son] and his wife are healthy which is great news and Joe should be ready for selection for the first one-day international, which is also great news.”