After winning a place in the team for the first Test against Sri Lanka, a relieved Eoin Morgan has stated that test cricket is his number one priority and that he would always prefer representing England over the cash rich Indian Premier League.
Morgan spoke to the media ahead of the first Test match set to be played at the Sophia Gardens in Sri Lanka. The left-hander would be one of the players to watch out for in the three-match series, he stated that he was ready to seize on his opportunity.
"My priorities are quite clear," Morgan told reporters. "Test match cricket comes first and always has done. It's why I play the game; it's where everybody tests them and what everybody is judged on."
Morgan was given flak by the English media, who had perceived that he was keener on playing in the crash, bang and wallop format than the long-hard-grind of Test match cricket, however the notion was denounced by the Irishman.
He also told the media the reasons for his interest in the league. He explained that he would have returned to play for his franchise Kolkata Knight Riders as he was required to fulfill his contract there, besides he believes that playing in India in the company of some big names of the game would help him in improving his game further.
"If I wasn't picked for the squad I didn't want to hang around, dawdle and feel sorry for myself," he said. "Number one, I wanted to do something and number two, I was contractually obliged to go back out. I had no choice."
He added that the experience of playing in IPL has made him a better player and the move went a long way in improving his cricket, despite playing a mere five games.
Morgan was in India for three weeks only, yet he claims that being around some mighty big international stars was a huge fill-up and meant a big thing for him.
The left-hander has an ample opportunity of establishing himself in the English Test team this season, last year he made a roaring start with a stupendous century in the first test against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
However, the tricky batting conditions in the rest of the series got the better of him, time and again he was sent packing by the Pakistani pace duo of Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif as the ball swung prodigiously. One advantage that he would have this year is that neither India nor Sri Lanka have the venom in their pace attack compared to the Pakistani team last year.
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