England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan has said that all-rounder Ben Stokes will be unavailable during the white-ball games this summer. England is scheduled to play white-ball games against India, followed by South Africa from July to September this year. Against India, they will play three ODIs and T20Is while they will play as many games against South Africa. Meanwhile, Morgan has said that the team wants Stoke to fully concentrate on Test captaincy.
“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.
For the unversed, Stokes was appointed the captain of the Test side after Joe Root decided to step down after his side had a string of failures in the longest format. Stokes captained the team in one game, against the West Indies in 2020 when the cricket resumed after the COVID19 pandemic. The upcoming three-match series against New Zealand at home will be his first stint as the full-time captain.
He will have the support of former New Zealand skipper and newly appointed Test team head coach Brendon McCullum. On the other hand, Morgan has added that the T20I series against India will be the right time to assess themselves. The 2019 World Cup-winning skipper has added that the team will test its depth of players during the series.
“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.
The T20I series between India and England will start on July 7. Before this, the Test team will play the postponed fifth Test which will start on July 2 in Birmingham. The world number Test side is leading the series by 2-1.
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