Michael Vaughan claims 'powerful' Eoin Morgan gets his way over Joe Root in England cricket

Michael Vaughan has made a potentially controversial claim regarding the 'balance of power' between Eoin Morgan and Joe Root in the English cricket system. Vaughan, on Monday, said that England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan gets to pick the team of his choice in ODIs and T20Is even if it comes at the expense of the Test side.

Michael Vaughan's comments come in the backdrop of a raging debate over England's controversial workload management programme or the 'rotation policy.

Under the new policy, players like Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali missed different games of the recently-concluded Test series against India where England were thumped 3-1. Meanwhile, the upcoming white-ball leg of eight matches - five T20Is and three ODIs - is expected to see almost a full-strength England take the field.

Writing for The Telegraph, Michael Vaughan said that Eoin Morgan had 'his wish' to play the best team in all the T20 matches throughout the year. Vaughan further claimed that Morgan's status as a World Cup-winning captain makes him 'bombproof' and pre-eminent.

"It is very clear where the leadership power lies in English cricket - it is with Eoin Morgan and not Joe Root. I am pretty sure that Morgan went to the selectors and Ashley Giles and said he wanted his best team at all times this year in T20, so he could build for the World Cup in India in October. He had his wish," observed Michael Vaughan.

The former England captain continued in this regard:

"I understand rotation. Nobody argues against the fact players need breaks from Covid bubbles but the frustration for me as a lover of the game's longest format is why has our Test team been weakened this winter, yet the Twenty20 side is at full strength. When you win a World Cup as captain, you are bombproof. I experienced it when I won the Ashes. Do you think Ed Smith is going to say ‘no’ to Morgan? No chance," said Michael Vaughan.

Just a reminder that England will be at full strength for all the T20 s & all players available for the whole IPL ... Why did England choose to rotate so much in Test cricket against the best in the world ?????? #INDvENG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 6, 2021

England have a hectic schedule this year. After the long tour of India and the IPL, they will host India and New Zealand in the Test series in the summer. After that, they will play the T20 World Cup in India and travel Down Under towards the end of the year to try and regain the Ashes.

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"Dangerous for so much power to be invested in one person" - Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan also talked about the possible repercussions of this power imbalance in English cricket.

He said prioritising Eoin Morgan's whims over Joe Root will lead to the weakening of the Test side and throw it into some 'dark days' during the Ashes.

"But it is dangerous for so much power to be invested in one person because it is rare they see the bigger picture. As much as he is a brilliant captain, it is wrong for Morgan to always get what he wants because understandably he will prioritise what is good for his team, and inevitably that will be at the expense of something else. But at some point, the management around him - Giles and Tom Harrison - have to take into account what is right for all England sides, not just one format, and level up the balance of power. If England do not manage this situation differently in the future, and if I hear they have to rotate during the Ashes series, then I’m afraid we are in some dark days indeed," said Michael Vaughan.

After more than six months, Eoin Morgan will be back in action in the T20I series against India that starts in Ahmedabad on March 12.

This should be some series! 🤩🇮🇳 #INDvENG 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 11, 2021

Although Joe Root will be unavailable for the T20I matches, he is expected to return for the ODI series later this month.