Trailblazer Morgan's days as England captain are over but his legacy will last forever

March 09, 2015, Eoin Morgan was a broken man. As he took his seat to confront the media in a press box at the Adelaide Oval following his side's humiliating exit from the 50-over World Cup, the writing was pretty much on the wall.

It was clear that England could no longer play the brand of cricket that they were playing at the time to survive the rapidly changing White-ball formats. In an era where teams were riding a Ferrari, England batters, it seemed, were meandering their way on a tuk-tuk.

To be fair, Morgan was dealt a bad hand. He was made captain of a sinking ship a month before the 50-over event in Australia.

Morgan witnessed the attacking brand of cricket that New Zealand were playing at the time under the inspirational leadership of Brendon McCullum. England were embarrassed by a rampaging Kiwi unit. 

Morgan went on to completely transform England's fortunes, and his appointment as the captain became a seminal moment in the English white-ball revolution.

To be fair, England always had the ammunition in the form of Ben Stokes, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, and Jonny Bairstow, but these guys needed a leader who would give them the licence to play "fearless cricket".

And that is precisely what they got with skipper Morgan and director of cricket Andrew Strauss.

Morgan was one of the few England cricketers who recognised the IPL as a 'finishing school" even before it came as a part of ECB's policy. He and Kevin Pietersen were the trailblazers in that regard, and while KP went into the wilderness in 2014, Morgan was there to carry the approach forward.

With the shackles taken off and fear of failure eliminated, the sky was the limit for England batters. 

It started with the 2015 ODI series against New Zealand, a side whose approach Morgan & England made their own over the next four years. The Roys, Bairstows, Buttlers, and Stokes' of the world proceeded to light up 50-over cricket with thrill-a-minute cricket.

Of course, Morgan was the one who showed the way. After all, his unbeaten 82-ball 113 at Nottingham helped his side chase down 350 for the first time in their ODI history.

The wheels of change were set in motion, and it eventually paved the way for England to finally claim the most coveted prize in cricket- the ODI World Cup- at the home of cricket, Lord's, four years later.

There were setbacks along the way. England's gung-ho approach didn't quite work on slow, turgid pitches, and it cost them the semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, while their death bowling proved to be their downfall at the 2016 and 2021 T20 World Cups. And perhaps that's why Morgan's animated reaction after Buttler ran Guptill out was so moving.

It was a look of a man who had finally attained Nirvana after walking through hell all his life. It was a look of a man who had envisioned the same thing for four years, and when it finally turned into reality, the raw emotions took over.

One can always argue that England were lucky to win the final, but then, as they say, winners tend to build their luck. England have had their fair share of misfortunes at ICC events finals in the past, and given how they had transformed entirely between 2015-19, it was only fitting that lady luck shined on them for once.

Over time, Morgan became a tactically astute captain and, more importantly, an inspirational figure in the dressing room. Although his form did not warrant an automatic place in the side, his stature had become too big to be questioned.

But Morgan had sent out feelers before the ODI series against the Netherlands about his impending retirement. And when he couldn't buy a run in the first two games despite a run glut from his batters, the writing was well and truly on the wall.

The beast that Morgan had nurtured for the best part of seven years had become too big even for his mighty shoulders. And on Tuesday, it was confirmed that he had decided to walk into the sunset.

If you think of it now, it is perhaps fitting that Morgan retired after the series that saw his batters achieve new heights of destruction in the format.

Morgan is from a select group of players who mere numbers can't judge. But it will be a gross disrespect to him if we pigeonhole him as someone who led England's white-ball revolution.

It is important to remember that Morgan was the original finisher of England's limited-overs team before the onset of the likes of Buttler.

Morgan and Kevin Pietersen made England's white-ball teams a treat to watch during the turn of the 2010s. Morgan played a crucial role in the middle-order in England's maiden ICC title win - T20 World Cup 2010- and Morgan, along with Ravi Bopara, nearly led England to the 2013 Champions Trophy heist.

Having made his international debut for Ireland in 2006, Morgan was earmarked as one of the trailblazers of the shorter formats due to his unorthodox style and penchant for playing attacking cricket.

He made an immediate impact with a brilliant 99 on debut against Scotland, and while he floundered at the 2007 WC, the southpaw soon established himself in the Middlesex line-up.

Morgan was pretty clear from age 13 that he wanted to represent England, so after securing Ireland's automatic qualification for the 2011 WC, the Three Lions soon called him up.

He made an immediate impact courtesy of a match-winning performance (67 off 34) against South Africa at the 2009 Champions Trophy.

Morgan soon became a pivotal part of the English white-ball line-ups, and while he did earn a call-up to the Test side, by the time 2012 arrived, he had realised where his future lay.

Ten years later, as Morgan walks into the sunset, he finishes as England's most capped white-ball player, the highest run-getter in both ODIs and T20Is, with the most sixes in both formats.

England have produced better white-ball batters before and during Morgan's era, but no one has had more impact as an influential figure than him as far as shorter formats are concerned. And no one will ever be able to take that away from him.