England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan has emphatically ruled himself out of taking on the Test captaincy.

The top job in the red-ball side is vacant after Joe Root stepped down last week to conclude a five-year reign that encompassed 64 Tests, 27 wins, 26 losses and 11 draws.

Morgan has been an influential figure in England’s limited-overs turnaround since their group stage exit at the 2015 World Cup, leading the ODI side to a dramatic victory at the 2019 tournament.

But the prospect of him replacing Root was always likely to be an outlandish one. Morgan has not played Test cricket since 2012, and his last first-class appearance was in 2019.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Morgan definitively ruled himself out of an improbable ascension.

“Absolutely not,” he said when asked if he’d be interested in the role. “I’m very happy with the role that I play within the white-ball team and English cricket at the moment. It’s been the part of my career that I’m most proud of.

“My career is firmly focused on World Cups and Champions Trophies 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.”

Ben Stokes is the favourite to become the next Test captain, and Morgan offered plenty of praise for the all-rounder. “Ben is a fantastic player, he’s a brilliant leader, 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 did show his true colours in the way that he led from start to finish, and throughout the whole World Cup as well. He’d certainly be a candidate.”