“Time will tell”: Eoin Morgan unsure of Alex Hales’ T20I comeback ahead of T20 World Cup 2021

Eoin Morgan: The English captain has given strong hints about persisting with the existing set of players especially top-order batsmen.

England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan continued to remain unperturbed about the top-order of his T20I side with a couple of T20 World Cups to be played in the next 20 months.

Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Morgan hailed opening batsman Jason Roy’s quality both as a batsman and as an influencer in the dressing room. Roy, 30, had last scored an international half-century more than a year ago during the tour of South Africa. In 12 white-ball innings since then, the right-hand batsman’s 126 runs have come at a paltry average of 11.45.

“As for Jason [Roy], he doesn’t need to remind any of us how good he is. We watch him train day in, day out and know the quality of player he is. We also know the impact of how he plays and the influence it has on the dressing room and the other batters,” Roy was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

Being asked about batsman Jonny Bairstow, Morgan said that he wasn’t concerned about him registering three ducks in four innings in the recently concluded Test series against India.

“I’m not concerned whatsoever about Jonny [Bairstow]. I think, the way the formats are now, there’s a huge distinction between Test cricket and white-ball cricket,” Morgan said.

Eoin Morgan unsure of Alex Hales’ T20I comeback ahead of T20 World Cup 2021

Opening batsman Alex Hales, who had last played for England during the tour of West Indies a couple of years ago, is expected to continue waiting for his national comeback as Morgan has talked against their plans changing with respect to Hales.

“Our position on Alex [Hales] still remains the same. He’s out of the squad. The squad is very strong at the moment. You look at the strength of our squad at the moment and the areas that we’re trying to improve, one area we don’t struggle for players, it’s probably in the top three,” Morgan further said.

Despite stiff competition in England’s T20I batting unit, Hales has been doing enough to knock the doors of the national selectors. Playing for Sydney Thunder in the latest edition of the Big Bash League, Hales had top-scored with 543 runs at a strike rate of 161.60 comprising of one century and three half-centuries.

Since his last international match, Hales has represented Islamabad United, Nottingham Outlaws, Barbados Tridents, Durban Heat, Karachi Kings and Thunder in the T20 circuit crossing the 50-run mark in 18 occasions in 85 innings.

“He’s not in the squad and the squad is very difficult to get back into. The player that he is has never been in doubt. Could he return ahead of the World Cup? Only time will tell. But time is a great healer,” Morgan added.