England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan and batsman Alex Hales have both made themselves unavailable for next month’s tour of Bangladesh, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed.
The tour, which begins on September 30 and will include two Tests and three ODIs, had been called into question after an attack in July on a cafe in Dhaka in which 20 hostages were killed, including 18 foreigners.
Morgan had already spelled out the reasons for his personal concerns about travelling following his previous experience of security alerts in both India and Bangladesh.
And the ECB confirmed late Sunday that both Morgan, 30, and Hales, 27, had let England cricket chief Andrew Strauss know their decision this weekend.
“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.”
Strauss added: “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.
From Agencies, Feature image courtesy bluebirdnews.co.uk
