Eoin Morgan says the end of his career in England “hit him” during the series against the Netherlands earlier this month, as the World Cup-winning captain confirmed his international retirement.
Under Morgan, England won the World Cup in 2019 and reached the top of the one-day ranking and Twenty20.
In the Netherlands, he made two ducks before missing the last international of a day due to a groin injury.
“The day it hit me was a pretty sad day,” the 35-year-old said.
“I’ve engaged with a lot of former players about how they’ve stopped, when and how the transition worked, and each person said there’s a time and a place where it’s up to you,” Morgan added.
“And the other usual answer was that you would wake up and find out. That moment came to me in Amsterdam.
“Since then I am incredibly proud and satisfied with the decision and I am excited about English cricket in the future.”
Jos Buttler, who has led England in nine ODIs and five T20s when Morgan has been out due to injury, is expected to take on the role, with an announcement scheduled for the weekend.
England face India in a three-match T20 series that will start on July 7, and the T20 World Cup in Australia starts in October.
Morgan took over the T20 team in 2012 and one day in 2014 and was also part of the 2010 T20 World Cup winning team.
He is England’s top scorer in one-day cricket and T20 with 6,957 and 2,458, respectively.
Morgan’s 225 ODI and 115 T20 count is also an England record, but his two ducks against the Netherlands reached the end of a half-century series in 26 white ball innings.
He added: “Asking for time to what has certainly been the most fun and rewarding chapter of my career has not been an easy decision, but I think now is the right time to do it, both for me personally and for me.The two English white ball teams I have driven to this point.
“It is the culmination of many things that throughout the international career, which has been a long time, I have just reached the end.
“I’m happy to have been in a solid enough space to understand that feeling and to be well aware of what it meant and what it means both for English white ball teams and for me in my personal life.”
“Bright captain, brilliant type, brilliant batsman” Ali to Morgan
Morgan said he will “continue to enjoy playing nationally for as long as he can” and still plans to be captain of the London Spirit in the second season of The Hundred in August.
Asked about a possible involvement in the England coaching staff, he added: “Right now the best thing for the set-up is to get out of it and let a new captain find his feet and build a relationship with the new coach and finally drive to the next World Cup.
“I certainly didn’t rule out coaching.”
After overseeing England’s miserable 2015 World Cup campaign when they were eliminated in the group stage, Morgan implemented a new approach to attack that helped his team break the record for the highest total of a day three times.
Rob Key, England’s men’s cricket general manager, said: “It will be a mistake to think that Eoin’s legacy had just won the World Cup in 2019; it is much bigger than that.
“As with all great players and leaders, it has changed the way the game has been played, and it has changed the way an entire generation and future generations will play this form of play. Their legacy within the game will be felt by many years to come.
“He’s definitely the best leader I’ve ever seen.”