After suffering a broken webbing between his thumb and index finger during the first ODI on Tuesday, England captain Eoin Morgan will miss the final two ODIs of the three-match series against India, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday. Furthermore, Sam Billings, who suffered a fractured collar bone when fielding in the first ODI, will miss the second ODI, with his appearance in the final match to be determined later.
The ECB announced that Liam Livingstone would make his debut in the second ODI on Friday and that Dawid Malan, who was in the squad as a cover, would be available for selection in the remaining two games. In Morgan’s absence, England will be led by Jos Buttler.
Morgan pronounced himself unfit after going through a fielding drill on Thursday at the MCA Stadium in Pune, the site for all three ODIs.
Morgan told the ECB’s website, “I got the hand re-dressed before the start of training today but it soon became clear that I was defending the injury and going into the wrong places to catch the ball.”
“In international cricket these days, there’s nowhere to hide on the field, particularly in limited-over formats, so it didn’t take much thought to make myself unavailable.”
“It was an unexpected injury, and while it’s painful, there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s only just a matter of waiting for the wound to heal. I’m confident that Jos and the rest of the team will be fine without me.”
Though Livingstone is certain to make his debut, Malan may replace Morgan in the second ODI as a like-for-like substitute.
After losing the first game by 66 runs, England will try to save the series on Friday.
India, too, is concerned with injuries. Shreyas Iyer’s dislocated shoulder has ruled him out of the ODIs (and, according to reports, the IPL 2021 as well), paving the way for Suryakumar Yadav to make his ODI debut. For the hosts, there are also questions about Rohit Sharma’s elbow.
