Morgan says nothing offensive about use of ‘sir’

CARDIFF: England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan insisted Tuesday his use of the word ‘sir’ in Twitter posts conveyed “admiration and respect” as he rejected suggestions of causing offence on social media.

Morgan and his deputy Jos Buttler were accused of mocking the way Indian people addressed them in English after Twitter posts from several years ago recently came to light again.

The England and Wales Cricket Board launched a “social media review” after Ollie Robinson was suspended from international duty pending an investigation following the re-emergence of historic racist and sexist posts during his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s earlier this month.

But Morgan, speaking ahead of the start of England’s three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka in Cardiff on Wednesday, was unconcerned about the prospect of being drawn into the row.

“I don’t really reflect on it a lot,” Morgan insisted. “I find if I call somebody ‘sir’ on social media, or anywhere around the world, it’s a sign of admiration and respect.”

The 34-year-old Dublin-born batsman added: “If that’s taken out of context there’s nothing I can control or do about it, so I haven’t actually looked into it.”

Meanwhile, Morgan said Alex Hales’s England exile could yet come to an end, with the Nottinghamshire batsman having been out in the cold since being dropped on the eve of the 2019 World Cup after a positive recreational drugs test.