England to go ahead with Bangladesh tour

Amid growing security concerns in Bangladesh, limited-overs captain Mashrafe Mortaza has urged the England players not to skip the forthcoming series, insisting that a deeper bond can be developed if the October tour goes ahead.

Safety concerns in Bangladesh were raised after a terror attack that took place in a Dhaka cafe on July 1 which had left 20 dead.

“They’ll debrief us on the findings on both tours (Bangladesh and India) and we’ll chat about it”.

Asked whether there is scope for players to withdraw from the tour should it go ahead, as occurred in 2001 when Andy Caddick and Robert Croft missed a trip to India following the September 11 terrorist attacks on NY and Washington, Morgan replied: “There’s always room for a personal decision”.

He said: “I’m looking forward to the meeting because it’s a decision you’d prefer to get out of the way sooner rather than later or it becomes a distraction”.

“There’s always room for a personal decision”.

“You also have to understand guys are in different situations and might have different priorities”.

Following their return, the European Central Bank said that the three One Day Internationals and two Tests which England are due to play in Bangladesh in October and November, before heading to India, were set to go ahead as scheduled.

Earlier in 2001, bowlers Andy Caddick and Robert Croft had pulled out of India tour due to security reasons before the entire England team refused a World Cup clash against Zimbabwe in Harare two years later.

Headed by the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) security adviser Reg Dickason, a three-man security team recently visited Bangladesh for venue and hotel inspections, reports bdnews24.com. I can assure you that you can play cricket here wholeheartedly.

Director of cricket Strauss, the former England captain, added: “England’s tour of Bangladesh will continue as planned”.

Dickason has given it the thumbs-up to the tour and now it is up to the individuals if they want to travel – although ODI skipper Eoin Morgan said on Tuesday it would not be held against the players if they want to opt out.

“We are hoping that they would come here to play”. We’ll have to see what Reg comes up with when he comes back.