Dubai: Kerala Kings, one of the UAE’s T10 League franchises, is proud to have played it’s part in Eoin Morgan’s journey to be the captain of the World Cup winning England team.
Morgan, who captains Kerala Kings, co-owned by Dubai-based Shafi-Ul Mulk, has remarked that UAE’s T10 League is the best league he has played among all the cricket leagues around the world. Shafi, who congratulated Morgan soon after he guided England to the historic triumph, received a message: “I cherish my winning knock in the finals of the first edition of the T10 League for Kerala. I usually watch this innings on Youtube very often to get inspired.”
For Morgan, T10 has helped him in learning to express himself - and the evidence of his big hitting could be seen during his stupendous knock of 148 off just 78 balls (17 sixes and four boundaries) against Afghanistan during the World Cup.
Morgan has agreed to return to lead Kerala Kings again in the third season of the T10 League. “I was fortunate to witness our Kerala team’s captain winning the World Cup through one of the most memorable games in the history of the game at Lord’s. For all of us in the team and personally for me, as I have a close relationship with Morgan, we feel proud of him and his achievement,” said Shafi.
“It is a matter of pride for the Kerala team that our team skipper is the World Cup wining captain. Morgan is a friend and a wonderful human being. He exhibited his calmness and maturity throughout the World Cup and lifted England superbly from under pressure following the defeats in the round-robin stage,” he added.
When asked what prompted him to make him the skipper of his T10 team, Shafi said: “I knew he possesses a very unique cool and calm temperament. As soon as the T10 matches began in the first season, I saw that he has exemplary leadership qualities. He kept infusing strong self belief in his teammates’ skills and kept motivating them. It is these qualities in him that helped us become the first champions of the T10 league.”
Shaji wants Morgan to keep leading Kerala Kings XI due to a number of factors. “Morgan hails from a very warm and down-to-earth family. His biggest quality is his willingness to listen with a smile and advice everyone with intelligence, humility and with the grace of a leader. He has the uncanny ability to spot the skills in a cricketer, I saw it in T10 and now I have seen it in World Cup too. He knows to introduce the right bowler and also create a winning combination. Morgan has made all the fans of Kerala Kings that back our team proud.”
