End of an era! England's ODI WC-winning skipper Eoin Morgan confirms international retirement

On Tuesday (June 28), Eoin Morgan has confirmed his international retirement. In the last 24 hours, there were speculations from all corners regarding Morgan's future and the England white-ball skippernow brokehis silence and confirmed that he is stepping aside from international cricket.

"To call time on what has been without doubt the most enjoyable and rewarding chapter of my career hasn't been an easy decision, but I believe now is the right time to do so, both for me, personally, and for both England white-ball sides I have led to this point," said Morgan in a statement issued by the England Cricket Board (ECB).

Morgan has had a stellar career at the international level. The Irish-born swashbuckling left-hander started his career playing for Ireland before he made a switch and joined the England cricket team. Since then, his career graph has only gone up, especially since he was named the permanent limited-overs captain in 2015. Under Morgan, England revamped their playing style in coloured clothings. The Three Lions ended as the semi-finalists in the 2017 Champions Trophy and 2021 T20 World Cup, and missed out on winning the title in the 2016 T20 World Cup before lifting the trophy in the 2019 ODI World Cup. Thus, he became the first-ever England captain to lead the national side to the elusive ODI WC trophy.

Morgan amassed 700 runs in Tests and 7,701 and 2,458 runs in ODIs and T20Is, respectively. The left-hander has ended with a total of 16 centuriesand his destructive approach with the bat has been hailed by many over the years.

The veteran has been struggling with form and fitness since the last year and, hence, his retirement was always on the cards. With him stepping aside, Jos Buttler is a favourite to take charge of the white-ball sides. He has served as Morgan's deputy for long.