Buttler to lead England for Bangladesh tour in Morgan's absence
Dhaka: England batsman Jos Buttler has been told he will captain the England one-day international team in Bangladesh tour following Eoin Morgan’s decision to pull out of the tour.
Buttler, the vice-captain, has led England only once before in a Twenty20 international against Pakistan last winter but steps in to fill the void left by Morgan, reports Telegraph.
Only a late change of heart from Morgan will thwart Buttler from taking charge but England do not expect their one-day captain to reverse his decision.
Morgan informed the England players a week ago of his choice not to go to Bangladesh.
The ECB had been hoping to alter his mind and Andrew Strauss, the team director, has given him until Sunday night to confirm his availability before the selectors meet next week to pick the squad.
But England also have to make a contingency sketch with Buttler given his probability to impress as captain in the three match 50 over series that starts on October 7.
Morgan spoke to his fellow players about his Bangladesh decision before the third one-day international against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, the night they smashed records and scored 444 for three.
Buttler’s only experience of captaincy before last winter’s game against Pakistan was in second XI and age group cricket.
This will be a testing trip for Buttler. The three games against Bangladesh will not be the walkovers they used to be. Bangladesh have beaten Pakistan, India and South Africa in series at home over the past two years.
England won 3-0 on their last tour in 2010 but since then have lost to Bangladesh in consecutive World Cups, ultimately knocking them out of the last tournament in Adelaide.
Bangladesh make new safety pledges for England
Bangladesh made fresh assurances Friday that England's cricketers would be accorded top-level security on their controversial upcoming tour amid growing doubts over whether ODI skipper Eoin Morgan will travel.
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.
But England's board gave it their go-ahead following a fact-finding visit to Bangladesh by their security expert and most of the players, including Test skipper Alistair Cook, are understood to be ready to make the trip.
The main question mark is over Morgan who gave his strongest hint yet on Thursday that he will stay home as he recounted how two previous scares had made him weary of ever jeopardising his personal safety again.
Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said it was ‘the prerogative of the England and Wales Cricket Board who they will send’ but made clear he would be disappointed if key players stayed away.
‘We just hope they will send the best available squad, which we expect to be competitive,’ Chowdhury told AFP.
Another senior board official, speaking on condition of anonymity, gave an outline of some of the measures being put in place to ensure the team's safety which are usually reserved for visiting heads of state.
While requesting that the details not be made public, the official said ‘there would be nothing to worry about’ for the tourists.
Chowdhury recalled how the board had managed to stage a trouble-free Under-19 World Cup earlier this year by also beefing up security.
‘As you all know some countries had expressed their concern during that tournament also. But we successfully managed to convince them to come here and hosted the tournament without any incident.
‘England will be given the same security as we had during the tournament when additional measures were put in place,’ he said without elaborating.
Australia pulled out of the Under-19 World Cup in January and their place was taken by Ireland.
Australia's senior team also pulled out of a series in October last year over safety fears and Bangladesh, the newest Test-playing nation, has been desperate to ensure that England does not follow their example.
They are determined to avoid the fate of Pakistan who -- apart from a lone series against Zimbabwe -- have not hosted any international cricket since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus during a 2009 Test in Lahore.
Although Morgan has yet to rule himself out, he has admitted that memories of a bomb blast during one of his matches in India in 2010 and a bout of deadly political violence while he was playing in a Bangladeshi domestic tournament three years ago were weighing heavily on his mind.

NTV Online