Pietersen would be reticent to tour Bangladesh

Former England captain, Kevin Pietersen, has said that, as a father of two children, he would be reluctant to tour Bangladesh under the current circumstances.

The England Cricket Board announced on Thursday that the tour would go ahead, while earlier in the week Eoin Morgan had assured that players could opt out of touring.

Pietersen told ESPNcricinfo: "It's not somewhere I'd like to be for the next six weeks,

"The young ODI side might not have too many issues, but the older Test side might have a few issues.

"Some of the older guys might have kids and other responsibilities, and might think 'How can I get out of going to Bangladesh?' They may think of this as an opportunity to get out of a Bangladesh tour. They'll be looking at it. I know a lot of journalists don't want to go to Bangladesh. So it's going to be tough.

"This is going to be one of the hardest decisions Alastair Cook has to make. Would I want to go? No. But I don't think one guy can pull out. If one goes, you've all got to go. It would be difficult to pull out of the tour."

Pietersen led the England squad that returned to India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks and the Durban-born man was one of those who argued strongly for touring. The tour had been abandoned but England came back and concluded the two Test series.

At the time Pietersen didn't have children, now as a father he believes he would do things differently.

Pietersen said: "That's why I've said I wasn't the right person to captain England at the time,

"I didn't understand the circumstances of the guys who had kids at that time. I didn't understand it at all.

"I think it damaged a lot of relationships for me with the side and senior players. I wish I wasn't captain of England at that time.

"I did it before I had kids. It makes a huge difference. Your responsibilities change. Your priorities change. It would have been a harder decision."