Eoin Morgan says felt 'lucky' to be retained as skipper after 2015 World Cup debacle

England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan said that he was lucky to not be removed from captaincy after the team was knocked out in group stages of the 2015 World Cup. In a conversation with Ian Bishop and Nasser Hussain at an ICC podcast titled ‘CWC Rewind’, Morgan recalled the maiden ODI World Cup win for England in 2019 and the humbling defeat in the previous World Cup.

The 33-year-old World Cup-winning captain said that Andrew Strauss’ appointment as the Director of Cricket after the 2015 World Cup was most significant. He praised Strauss for recognising the need for significant change within the group after seeing “first hand” what had happened during the tournament.

"For a guy to come in such a prominent role and to make changes in such a fast manner was very significant. I was kept on as skipper of the side and I do feel lucky to be retained as the skipper of the side” said Morgan.

Read: Eoin Morgan Reveals Moment During World Cup 2019 Final That Made Him Think 'it's Over'

Stint at KKR with Bayliss

The left-handed batsman said that Trevor Bayliss was appointed as the coach and the team started playing an aggressive brand of cricket which was very exciting. He acknowledged that his exceptional relationship with Bayliss enabled the side to perform well, adding that the time spent with him at Kolkata Knight Riders also helped. 

"I thought the relationship with Bayliss worked really well before he was appointed as the coach of England, we had spent some time with Kolkata Knight Riders, building the relationship with him did not take long," Morgan said.

England changed their approach towards the limited-overs game with an aggressive strategy and started piling on big runs on the scoreboard. The strategy was ably supported by white-ball specialists who were chosen for England’s long-term World Cup plan. England won the 2019 World Cup by defeating New Zealand in the final match which went to super-over and was finally decided on the basis of the boundary-countback rule.

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