EXCLUSIVE: Morgan names India, England as favourites for World Cup; picks T10 as cricket’s ticket to Olympics

Following the 2015 World Cup debacle, former England captain Eoin Morgan reinstated the trust and the belief of winning in his teammates and fans by resetting their way of playing cricket. That paid dividends as England emerged as the most feared white-ball side and even won the home World Cup in 2019. Speaking with WION’s Sports Editor, Digvijay Singh Deo, in an exclusive chat Eoin Morgan opened up on England’s chances of retaining the World Cup in India and which four teams, according to him, have it in them to lift the trophy.

Currently plying his trade in Zimbabwe’s inaugural T10 League, where he is leading the Harare Hurricanes, Morgan expressed his thoughts on how tough competition the 2023 World Cup will be and what it means for the defending champions to come there and deliver. The left-handed batter, who switched countries in his career, having started for Ireland earlier, also termed India one of the favourites to win the World Cup and end their dry run of winning ICC trophies with that.

Meanwhile, backing England’s top brass for taking the right decisions at the start of the year – citing the example of resting Joe Root for the South Africa ODIs and sending him to play the International League T20 in the Gulf, and instead bringing in more young players for them to get the exposure. Although England is not slated to play many ODIs in the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup, Morgan feels ECB’s policy of giving players more international exposure by allowing them to play in several leagues will benefit them eventually.

When asked which four teams can make the semis, Morgan said, “England, India, Australia and Pakistan are four favourites. Playing 50-over cricket in India you need to have your basis covered, and I think these four teams do.”

‘Excellent India Team can lift 2023 World Cup’

The hosts of the World Cup, India, haven’t lifted an ICC trophy since last winning in 2013 (Champions Trophy), and Morgan feels if the current team management can urge the players to engage with the ones who did it in the past, it can benefit the Men in Blue – who according to him are already hot favourites to stand tall in the end.

“India is an excellent cricket team and will be favourites going into the 2023 World Cup. Home advantage is a keen thing. My advice for them would be to engage with the people that were there (in 2011) and probably pick their brains. It’s going to be a hell of a tournament. I am looking forward to it, hoping don’t have too much luck (laugh),” Morgan said on WION.

Morgan on cricket’s chances in Olympics             

Cricket getting involved in the Olympic Games has been the topic of discussion for quite some time now. With Morgan now playing in the T10 league, the ex-World Cup winning captain feels this format fits the Olympics parameter as more teams can play in a crunch window, unlike T20 Cricket – where he feels only handful of teams will be able to participate, and exposure of the same will be enough.

“If cricket was welcomed into the Olympics, it (T10 format) would have to be considered as one of the formats because if you were to use T20 cricket as an example, you would only be able to play five or six teams (given the crunch window of 10-12 days), which is not enough exposure,” Morgan added.