In what is likely to be a huge blow to Bangladesh, who wanted to play against a full-strength England side and the visitors themselves, England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan and opening batsman Alex Hales will not be making the trip to Bangladesh due to security concerned.
The ECB confirmed that the duo will not travel to Bangladesh after a terrorist attack in the country in July and have confirmed that to England’s director of cricket over the weekend. In the absence of Morgan, Jos Buttler will lead England in the three ODIs with the team set to be announced.
"Whilst we understand and respect Eoin and Alex's decision, we are disappointed that they have made themselves unavailable for selection for the Bangladesh tour," Strauss said. "We have had open and honest conversations with all the players about the security arrangements in Bangladesh and at this stage we are not expecting any other individuals to withdraw from the tour. Final selection for the Bangladesh tour, will now take place on Friday.
"As with all England overseas tours, the safety and security of players and staff is of the utmost importance to ECB. We will continue to monitor the situation in Bangladesh, take advice and consider the appropriate steps up to and throughout the five weeks we are on tour.”
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The former England captain believes that the tour is “100 % safe” after the report from ECB’s security advisor Reg Dickason, PCA chief executive David Leatherdale and ECB director of cricket operations, John Carr.
The ECB statement on Sunday read: "A thorough and detailed risk assessment was approved and accepted by the ECB board and the England players and management have been fully briefed on all aspects of the safety and security arrangements."
Earlier in the week, Morgan spoke about his past experiences with security scares making him think twice about the tour.
"I have been to places before when things have become a distraction and once or twice when that has been security, and when it has been I told myself I would not put myself in that situation again," Morgan said. "Playing international cricket - or any cricket - is not about worrying about different things, it should be the best time of your life, it should be something that you are looking forward to and wanting to do well in and are able to focus on.”
The news will come as a huge blow to Strauss who was hopeful that both England captains will make the trip to Bangladesh.
"Would I like both our captains to be on that tour? Absolutely, definitely," Strauss said on Wednesday. "The captain has certain roles and responsibilities that are greater than just looking after themselves. He obviously has a duty to the team. But they're still human beings - and I think that's an important point to make. They have their own thoughts, concerns, issues and views on life - and we've got to understand that.”
The decision could have an impact on future of both players. While Morgan has had a great start to captaincy, Buttler taking over the reins might give the selectors an alternative should they choose to take it ahead of a trip to India and the Champions Trophy next year as well. As far as Hales is concerned, while his limited-overs spot may be confirmed, his Test spot might go to Lancashire’s 19-year-old opener Haseeb Hameed who has been amongst the runs in this year’s County Championship.
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