Morgan to return to IPL if not picked for England squad
May 20th, 2011 - 7:30 pm ICT by IANSLondon, May 20 (IANS) England batsman Eoin Morgan will return to play for his Indian Premier League franchise (IPL) Kolkata Knight Riders if he is not picked in the national side for the Test series against Sri Lanka starting Thursday.
Morgan struck an unbeaten 156 while playing for England Lions against Sri Lanka in a warm-up match at Derby.
The southpaw made it clear that he will fly back to India if his name is not there in the squad slated to be announced Sunday. If that happens, he should be able to make it before the IPL play-offs which start Tuesday. The Knight Riders look set to qualify for the next stage.
“If I am not picked I will make other plans,” Morgan told reporters at Derby.
“We are looking good at the IPL so if we make the final, I will fly back.”
Morgan, however, has had an ordinary IPL season with 137 runs to his name from nine innings.
The Irish-born cricketer said playing in India has made him a better player.
“The conditions out there are difficult and I have learnt a lot, but it was tough. I got very few opportunities early on so it was all part of the learning curve,” he said.
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Tags: cricketer, england batsman, england squad, eoin, fly, India, ipl, knight riders, league franchise, learning curve, lions, london, nine innings, play offs, premier league, southpaw, sri lanka, test series, warm up match