Morgan 'comfortable' over Bangladesh pullout

Eoin Morgan has said he remains "comfortable" with his decision not to take part in England's tour of Bangladesh due to his concerns over the security situation.

Morgan and Alex Hales made themselves unavailable for the tour following the terror attacks in the country earlier this year despite the unprecedented levels of security the team were granted for the visit.

Andrew Strauss, the managing director of England cricket, who gave the players the right to choose, said an individual's decision would not be held against them in future selection. Morgan, who is currently in Australia for a spell at the Big Bash for Sydney Thunder, has been recalled to captain the limited-overs squads in India next month. Hales has also been included with Ben Duckett, who made two half-centuries in the one-day series win over Bangladesh, losing his place.

"I wasn't comfortable travelling because of security concerns and I weighed up the question 'would I be able to perform as a captain and as a player given the security concerns in Bangladesh?'" Morgan said. "I'm still comfortable with it. It is something I considered before confirming my decision to the ECB. I tried to imagine all the different circumstances and didn't feel comfortable enough in my mind to go and be able to perform.

"I have had a great deal of support, everyone who I trust in a tight-knit circle has supported me, everyone within the game that I trust has supported me, players ex and current who I lean on for big decisions. It's been really good, it was a difficult decision to make and I don't think a lot of people would have made it but I am certainly happy with the decision that I have made."

Shortly before Morgan confirmed his decision not to tour he cited being involved in previous security scares in both Bangladesh, when he played domestic cricket 2013-14, and India, during the 2010 IPL, as a factor that was weighing heavily on his mind. He has since returned to India on both international and IPL duty but explained that his concerns over Bangladesh also stemmed from the fact that England were the first western team to tour there since the attacks in Dhaka on July 1.

"I think one thing that had changed from 2010 in India was that other teams had travelled there and security had increased, also since then there had been no terrorist attacks or sightings or threats in regard to either a tournament or a national team," he said. "I think going to Bangladesh and being the first western team to travel there since the terrorist attack and the fact that Australia had pulled out even before the terrorist attack happened, was another reason."

England's three-match one-day series begins in Pune on January 15 and is followed by a three-match T20 series. The first half of 2017 is entirely one-day focused for England with a short tour to West Indies followed by series against Ireland and South Africa in May ahead of the Champions Trophy.