Kevin Pietersen: Eoin Morgan’s decision to pull out of Bangladesh tour ‘courageous’

Out of favour English batsman, Kevin Pietersen lauded England ODI skipper Eoin Morgan’s decision to pull out from the upcoming Bangladesh tour despite the ECB giving them the surety of safety, terming it as a ‘brave decision’. He gave proper weightage to Morgan’s decision and specifically applauded it as a “very, very courageous decision.”

The ECB on Sunday confirmed that Morgan along with Alex Hales won't be touring Bangladesh and wicket-keeper batsman Jos Butler will lead England in his absence. Earlier Pietersen had stated that Morgan would be jeopardising his international career if he didn’t travel to Bangladesh. However, he didn’t criticise Morgan’s decision and lauded it as a brave one on Twitter.

Nevertheless, Pietersen continued to think that Morgan’s decision could mean a potential end to his career but was quick to add that Morgan was always welcome him as his partner in T20 stints. Pietersen also confirmed that he has no plans in filling in as a replacement for Eoin Morgan for the Bangladesh tour as he has prior golf commitments. Earlier Pietersen wrote in his column in Telegraph UK, “Eoin Morgan has no choice but to go to Bangladesh.”

“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,” he added.

Meanwhile, Morgan said that there was a number of other reasons besides the security issues that led to his decision from pulling out from the Bangladesh tour. He said that his decision was influenced by an incident during the 2010 IPL when a bomb exploded outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bengaluru and a similar situation during his short stint in the 2013/14 edition of the 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. 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,” said Morgan.

Meanwhile, ECB director Andrew Strauss who had earlier stated that the players were free to make their decision and no one will be forced for the Bangladesh tour, admitted that they were disappointed at Morgan and Hales pulling out from the tour. “Whilst we understand and respect Eoin and Alex’s decision, we are disappointed that they have made themselves unavailable for selection for the Bangladesh tour,” said Strauss.