Out-of-form captain Eoin Morgan was left to field yet more tricky questions yesterday in the build-up to England’s important World Cup clash with New Zealand in Wellington.

The left-hander’s lack of runs was again high on the agenda but Morgan was also forced to justify the decision to allow him to put his Indian Premier League commitments before England duty.

Morgan will be unavailable to lead England in the one-day international against Ireland on May 8 after he was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in Monday’s IPL auction.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has relaxed rules to allow their contracted players to be available for the whole tournament, which runs from April 8 to May 24.

“Yeah, that means I won’t go to Ireland,” Morgan said.

“The chairman of selectors and the director of cricket have allowed the guys who have got picked up in the IPL, or went into the auction, to miss that Ireland game in order to expose themselves to opportunities in the IPL in order to learn more about their game and excel their game.”

Morgan denied that it might appear a strange decision for the captain to skip the Dublin match, adding: “No I don’t think it is. Probably if you’re being a little short-sighted it might do but I think in the longer run it will serve me well.”

Morgan missed the IPL last year in a bid to push his claims for a return to England’s Test team only to see Gary Ballance, Moeen Ali and Sam Robson preferred by the selectors.

That has prompted the 28-year-old’s return to the IPL — a decision he confirmed in Perth last month — and described the chance given to him by Hyderabad as a “huge privilege.”

“I think it’s really important where I’m at in my career to refocus on my basics of what I’ve learnt over the last six years I’ve played for England,” he said.

“One of those processes was playing in the IPL. It does give you great confidence, you learn a lot along the way and it gives you great energy.

“Going back to that is a huge privilege.”

A Morgan return to form would go a long way towards England pulling of an upset against the in-form Black Caps at the Westpac Stadium tomorrow night.

England have only ever won one ODI in the New Zealand capital — way back in 1984 — and Morgan suggested he and the other senior players would need to lead the way.

“Our senior players will need to stand up,” he said.

“We didn’t do it at the MCG which was disappointing. Guys like myself, Jimmy, Broady, Belly need to make contributions in order to make the young guys feel quite comfortable within themselves.”