IPL 2021: Did Eoin Morgan reveal the opening combination of Rajasthan Royals?
Eoin Morgan is the reigning skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2021 Indian Premier League, having taken over the reins from Dinesh Karthik mid-way last season. KKR would be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening game of the season on April 11.
FollowKolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan will have some task at hand as he would look to help the side become proper title contenders in the Indian Premier League 2021. He took up the role last season,mid-way after former skipper Dinesh Karthik relinquished the duties.
Morgan is also the reigning skipper of England's limited-overs side, which is currently the number one team in both Twenty20 Internationals and One-day Internationals. England is coming off a narrow losing performance in both formats against India.
Speaking on the series, Morgan told Sky Sports that the pair of wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler and all-rounder Ben Stokes has made a tremendous impact for the side of late. In the process, he also told that the duo, who play for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, would also be the opening pair this season.
"The more opportunities we've given to Jos, the better he has got. Very similar instance to Ben. The guys just keep getting better and better and better, so it's our responsibility and the team's responsibility to present opportunities to them in the biggest moments of the game," he told Nasser Hussain and Rob Keyon Sky Sports.
"Obviously, the two of them will be opening for Rajasthan this year in the IPL, so that's going to be great to watch. But, in a team where you have two superstars opening the batting, as an opposition, I'm thinking, 'Well, better start well!'" he added.
However, on being asked if the same could be done for England, Morgan refuted, asserting that doing so would disorganise the order and strengthen just one particular department. "When you come back to our batting line-up, we need to have that strength and depth in all the areas to win the game. When you throw your two top batsmen at the top, you're heavily weighted and throwing all your chips at one area of the game, as opposed to trying to space it out," he concluded.
KKR finished in the fifth spot last season and would be hoping to qualify for the playoffs this season. It plays its season opener against former champion Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 11 in Chennai.
