Morgan names two contenders for Eng captaincy
Former England World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan has identified two potential successors for the white-ball leadership role following Jos Buttler's resignation.
Buttler stepped down as England's limited-overs skipper after a winless ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign and unsuccessful title defenses in both the 50-over and 20-over World Cups.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Morgan emphasized the importance of a long-term vision for England's white-ball team.
"I think it is imperative that you will always have a target in mind," said Morgan.
"With the recent form the side, particularly in white-ball cricket, has had, you cannot go out and all of a sudden try and win absolutely everything. You need to paint a picture moving forward as to what you are driving all of your energy towards," he added.
Morgan suggested that current Test captain Ben Stokes could step in as a transitional leader despite not having played an ODI since the 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup.
"I think a bit of a left-field call would be to ask Ben Stokes to consider the role, not necessarily on a full-time basis."
"You would have to create an environment where Ben would slip in and out seamlessly in preparation for big tournaments and then sit on the backburner and focus on Test match cricket until those big tournaments came up."
Additionally, the 38-year-old endorsed Harry Brook as a long-term captaincy option, praising the 26-year-old's leadership during England's home series against Australia last year.
"If you highlight something that is in three years, four years, somebody like Harry Brook would do a magnificent job," Morgan said.
"He had the captaincy at the end of our summer last year against a really strong Australian side, and I thought he was impressive.
"We know Harry Brook as this incredibly tale nted player that we are seeing grow and get better year on year, which is just a joy to watch. But the leadership role did not seem to weigh on him.
"The testing element for me was after they lost a game in which I thought England played well, was just to see how they bounced back as a team.
"The test is always when the team gets pushed back and for me they bounced back terrifically. Came back fighting, came back punching and it was not reckless. It was clear, confident, and calculated. For me, that is a really good sign," he concluded.
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