India vs Engalnd: Eoin Morgan ruled out of the ODI series; Jos Buttler to lead

The visiting nation England isn’t having an ideal outing in the limited-overs format as they lost the five-match T20I series against India by 2-3 followed by a humiliating defeat in the first One Day International of the three-match series at Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune by a massive 66 runs.

Coming into the second ODI, the English nation has been dealt with a massive blow as their skipper Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of the remaining ODI series. It is learned that Morgan has split the webbing between his thumb and index finger while fielding during the first ODI on Tuesday.

Eoin and the team-management hadn’t realized the severity of the matter back then as the skipper was deemed fit to bat later in the game. The 34-year-old had returned to the field in the One Day International with the bat but had a poor outing as he went back to the pavilion courtesy Shardul Thakur after scoring 22 runs off 30 deliveries.

Later, the injury required four stitches but Morgan’s injury came into the limelight during the practice session on Thursday as he found himself protecting his injured hand and wasn’t able to take the correct position with the ball. “I had the hand re-dressed before the start of training today but it quickly became apparent that I found myself protecting the injury and getting into the wrong positions to catch the ball,” Eoin Morgan was quoted as saying by The Cricketer.

Sam Billings to miss the second One Day International against India

“There’s nowhere to hide on the field in international cricket these days, especially in limited-over formats so it didn’t require any great thought to make myself unavailable. It was a freak injury and it’s extremely frustrating but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s now just a case of letting the cut heal. I have every confidence in Jos and the rest of the squad coping without me,” the skipper added.

Apart from Morgan, Sam Billings is also set to give the second One Day International a miss as he had bruised his left collar bone after landing awkwardly during the first ODI against India. However, there is no clarity over his availability for the last ODI. 

Meanwhile, it is learned that Jos Buttler will be donning the skipper hat in the absence of Morgan while all-rounder Liam Livingstone is all set to make his ODI debut. Dawid Malan, who had featured in T20Is, has also been included in the ODI squad and is available for selection.