England's Eoin Morgan, Hales opt out of Bangladesh cricket tour

London, Sep 12 (CRICKETNMORE): Owing to security reasons after the Dhaka blasts this year, England One-day International (ODI) captain Eoin Morgan and opening batsman Alex Hales have opted out of Octobers cricket tour of Bangladesh because of security concerns.

"While we understand and respect Eoin and Alex's decision, we are disappointed that they have made themselves unavailable for selection for the Bangladesh tour," England director of cricket Andrew Strauss said in a statement on Sunday. Pujara's century drives India Blue to 362/3 in Duleep Trophy final.

He added that no further withdrawals are expected following "open and honest" discussions with all the players.

England players Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan and Liam Dawson have all publicly said they will tour Bangladesh.

No international side has toured Bangladesh since 20 people were killed in a siege at a cafe in Dhaka in July.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in August that the tour would go ahead following a security review.

"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," ECB said in a statement. ICC to present ICC Test mace to Pakistan skipper Misbah on September 21.

Jos Buttler will captain the one-day side, with the squads for the one-day and Test series to be named on Friday.

The tour features three ODIs starting on October 7. The ODIs will be followed by two Test matches.