Eoin Morgan opens up about Alex Hales's chances of a comeback before T20 World Cup

England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan has opened up about a possible comeback for Alex Hales ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year. Morgan, on Thursday, insisted that Hales's situation remains 'unchanged' but stopped just short of completely ruling out the possibility of a return.

Alex Hales was handed a 21-day ban for a positive recreational drug test in 2019 and has been out of the England set-up ever since. Even after serving the ban period, Alex Hales was overlooked for the 2019 World Cup, with Eoin Morgan citing 'breakdown in trust' as the reason.

The 32-year-old has continued to play in T20 leagues around the world but despite some brilliant returns, he has received a cold shoulder from England selectors.

As quoted by the Daily Mail, Eoin Morgan remarked that Alex Hales's batting credentials were never in doubt but it was 'very difficult' to get back into the settled top-order of the national team.

“Only time will tell. You look at the strength of our squad at the moment and areas that we’re trying to improve – one area we don’t struggle for players, it’s probably in the top three. His position is still the same. He’s not in the squad and the squad is very difficult to get back into. Alex’s situation is obviously very unique. The player that he is has never been in doubt. Obviously, time is a great healer," said Eoin Morgan.

However, Eoin Morgan also alluded to the possibility of calling Alex Hales back to take a hit at the nets.

"We learn more about players by bringing them into the nets. There is an opportunity this summer to bring him in," said Eoin Morgan.

---

Alex Hales's performances since the 2019 ban

Alex Hales was the top-scorer in the BBL 10.

Alex Hales has scored a stunning 1,610 T20 runs since the start of last year while hopping between England's T20 Blast, the Pakistan Super League and the Big Bash League.

Alex Hales was the top run-scorer in the latest edition of the BBL. Playing for the Sydney Thunder, the right-handed batsman scored 543 runs from 15 innings at an average of 38.79.

He registered the highest individual score of the tournament (110), and had the highest strike rate (161.61) among players with over 300 runs.

Pwoah, Alex Hales is in a mood tonight! 21 runs from the over if you don't mind 😳 #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/PKc5ZYxhti

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 13, 2021