Eoin Morgan: The captain leading KKR's ship

Eoin Morgan is 86 adrift of 7000 runs in T20 cricket. The English captain is leading the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021 and has a good chance of getting those runs in the next few matches.

At international level, Eoin Morgan has an excellent record as a batsman and an equally enviable record as a captain. In One-Day Internationals, England have won 72 of the 121 matches captained by Eoin Morgan, which includes the side's run to their first ever ODI World Cup win in 2019.

Last year, Dinesh Karthik relinquished the captaincy of the KKR franchise and the responsibility was handed over to Eoin Morgan. KKR last won the IPL in 2014 and the team owners would be longing to break the drought. Morgan is one of the sharpest minds in the game at present and his expertise should come in handy for the cause.

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Eoin Morgan: The captain on whom the Knight Riders bank

Eoin Morgan has been an absolute asset for England as a batsman and a captain

Eoin Morgan's record in the T20 format isn't as exquisite as some of the other players. His overall stats show that he has played 313 T20 matches and has scored 6914 runs at an average of 27.32. His strike-rate, though it might look a bit low compared to his own standards, is a manageable 132.78.

Going into his IPL T20 record, his average dips to around 25 and his strike rate drops to around 126.

So what is it that makes Eoin Morgan an extremely valuable player in the IPL?

To begin with, he is world-renowned for his big-hitting ability. The destruction he can unleash in a few overs can be matched by few others around the world. A sample of this can be seen in his innings against Afghanistan at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

💥 148 runs💥 71 balls 💥 Four fours💥 17 sixes – an ODI record On Eoin Morgan's birthday, relive his 🔥 knock from the 2019 ICC Men's @cricketworldcup 🙌 pic.twitter.com/j6unuzthTa

— ICC (@ICC) September 10, 2020

In that game, England were 164/2 when Morgan walked in to bat. Afghanistan had bowled 29.5 overs. By the time Morgan finished, England had reached 359 for the loss of 4 wickets at the end of the 47th over. Morgan alone had 148 runs off 71 balls, which included a world record 17 sixes.

Similar to other overseas cricketers, Eoin Morgan has missed out on a big chunk of the IPL due to his international commitments. Prior to his 2020 IPL season, he previously played more than 10 games in the league way back in 2013.

Kevin Pietersen disappointed with the bat and as a leader

Sometimes, being partially absent in a season eats into a player's performance. An example can be found in Kevin Pietersen's ill-fated captaincy stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009. The English player had only six games in the league before he had to return for his national commitments. In those 6 games, he aggregated only 93 runs at a strike-rate of 109.41.

#IPL2020 #KKRvRR | Match 54IPL 2020: Eoin Morgan (68*), Rahul Tripathi (39) power Kolkata Knight Riders to 191/7 against Rajasthan RoyalsFollow for live updates: https://t.co/yp9JUkz0Gr pic.twitter.com/uezjrO4mOZ

— TOI Sports (@toisports) November 1, 2020

Eoin Morgan's performance last season is worth looking at. Playing in the IPL for the first time in three years, he recorded his best performance to date. In 14 appearances, he scored 418 runs at a strike-rate of 138.41.

His 68 off 35 balls against the Rajasthan Royals is especially worth a mention. Marked with five fours and six sixes, his knock led to a comfortable win for KKR.

Beyond his batting, the leader in Eoin Morgan makes him an important entity in the IPL. KKR got their playing XI and batting order right for their first game in the 2021 season. Morgan was full of praise for senior players like Harbhajan Singh who kept the camp in the best of spirits.

While it is almost certain that Eoin Morgan should breach the 7000-run mark in T20 cricket in the next few days, the KKR management will hope the Irishman leads their side all the way to glory.