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Morgan opens up on Bangladesh fears

England's limited-overs captain may not tour Bangladesh and Kevin Pietersen has warned him it could spell the end of his international career

Eoin Morgan says two previous security scares in the sub-continent made him wary of ever again jeopardising his personal safety, and could be set to withdraw from the England’s tour of Bangladesh.

English newspaper The Sun reports that Morgan has told England director of cricket Andrew Strauss that he will not embark on their tour of Bangladesh later this month, with fears other players could follow suit.

The tour was called into question after an attack on a Dhaka cafe in July saw 20 hostages killed, although Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan have both said they will go if selected.

The England and Wales Cricket Board consequently sent an inspection team to Bangladesh led by long-serving security chief Reg Dickason. After he reported back, the board confirmed that the tour, which includes three one-day internationals and two Test match fixtures in October-November, would go ahead.

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Strauss said on Wednesday he expected to hear from players within a matter of days if they were available to tour ahead of an expected squad announcement on September 16.

The former England captain also warned that withdrawing from the tour could "give a chance to someone else to stake a claim on your place". 

But Morgan said his thinking had been influenced by a bomb exploding at a 2010 Indian Premier League match and the violent background to a brief spell in the 2013/14 Dhaka Premier Division.

"In 2010 we played an IPL game in Bangalore and a bomb went off in the ground. We immediately left for the airport,” the Irishman said.

“So that was an instance. Another one was (in) Bangladesh playing domestic cricket during political elections when things were incredibly violent."

"I think ultimately, as I’ve said before, as an individual you need to be comfortable within yourself to focus on cricket.”

"I’ve been to places before where things have become a distraction and it’s only been once or twice when security’s been a distraction and I’ve told myself I’d never put myself in that situation again."

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Test captain Alastair Cook is understood to have given a private assurance he will be on the tour, while coach Trevor Bayliss, who was on the Sri Lanka bus that came under armed attack in Lahore in 2009, has stated publicly he will travel to Bangladesh.

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen suggested if Morgan opts to pull out, it will effectively spell the end of his England career.

“Eoin Morgan has no choice but to go to Bangladesh,” Pietersen wrote in a column for The Telegraph.

“It is a case of one in, all in so if he does not go he will have a red cross next to his name as far as the bosses at the England and Wales Cricket Board are concerned.

“When Alastair Cook is willing to lead the Test squad it puts huge pressure on Eoin as captain of the one-day team.”

“(It) is his right to take that personal choice, but it will be held against him at some stage in the future, despite any assurances to the contrary."

Morgan, speaking after England's nine-wicket Twenty20 thrashing by Pakistan at Old Trafford on Wednesday, said it was difficult to concentrate solely on cricket amid a backdrop of security worries. 

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"International cricket or any cricket for that matter is not about worrying about different things," the 29-year-old said. 

"It’s meant to be the best time of your life, it should be something that you are looking forward to and wanting to do well and able to focus on.

"You have guys who have not toured anywhere like this before under circumstances like this and I think given that nobody has toured there since the terrorist attack, adds a bigger decision to it."

Australia pulled out of its tour of Bangladesh in October last year, citing security concerns.

But Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland indicated that both nations were eyeing an opportunity to reschedule the Test series in July or September 2017, either side of Bangladesh's scheduled Test and ODI visit to Australia that is likely to be played in the nation's far-north.

"We've had discussions off-line with the Bangladesh Cricket Board," Sutherland said in April.

"They know and understand that we're absolutely committed to playing that (postponed) tour, obviously subject to security matters that we need to go through in preparation for that tour.

"But we're very much looking forward to getting back to Bangladesh and playing cricket over there."