England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan has backed "brilliant leader" Ben Stokes to succeed Joe Root as Test skipper.
Root stood down as captain earlier this month after five years in the role, following a 1-0 series defeat to the West Indies. "It has been the most challenging decision I have had to make in my career but having discussed this with my family and those closest to me; I know the timing is right," Root said.
As vice-captain and one of the few players guaranteed a spot in the side if fit, Stokes is widely viewed as Root's most likely successor. And Morgan has given Stokes his backing to replace Root, telling Sky Sports: "Obviously Ben is a fantastic player, a brilliant leader, though he doesn't need to have the captain's armband on to lead like he does.
"The experience of the World Cup final here [at Lord's] really showed his true colours in the way that he led from start to finish - and throughout the whole tournament as well. He'd certainly be a candidate.
"I think it would be hard to turn down the captaincy. It's a privileged position to be in. Obviously circumstances have to be right, but most people who want to take red-ball cricket forward would like to take it on."
When asked if he would be interested in the job, Morgan replied: "Absolutely not, no. I'm very happy with the role that I play within the white-ball team and English cricket at the moment.
"It has been the part of my career that I'm most proud of. My career is firmly focused on World Cups, and hopefully sustaining what we've built over the last six years is probably going to be the most important part of what I leave behind eventually.
"I haven't played red-ball cricket for a long time. I wouldn't have any interest in the job. I would be no good at it."
The 35-year-old also endorsed the idea of splitting the head coach role between red and white ball cricket, adding: "Just the demands of the game as a whole now is huge, there is almost no break. It's such a big ask for one man to do the job."
