Alex Hales to miss England's Bangladesh tour to participate in PSL

Alex Hales is reportedly set to miss England's tour of Bangladesh to to feature in the upcoming Pakistan Super League for the Islamabad United, who bought him as a platinum pick for £145,000. The 2023 edition of the league is set to run between February 13 to March 19, while England will be playing three ODIs and T20Is each in the Asian nation from March 1 to 14.

Hales made his comeback for the Three Lions in the 2022 T20 World Cup as an injury replacement for Jonny Bairstow. He proved his worth by scoring 212 runs at an average of 42.40 and played a crucial role in England’s World Cup triumph. He was the Player of the Match in a semi-final against India, remaining unbeaten on 86 off 47 while chasing 169.

However, as per a Telegraph report, England are "highly understanding of the situation and have not put pressure on Hales", with the opener still part of the plans ahead in white-ball cricket. Although Hales is not a part of the ongoing ODI series in South Africa, he is still in consideration for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

"To me, white-ball cricket is white-ball cricket, he's shown he's not a slogger of the ball,” England coach Matthew Mott was quoted as saying by the Mirror about Hales’ ODI future. "He's a proper cricketer and there's absolutely no reason why he couldn't get in that 50-over team. We've got some tough selections coming up, and we don't play a lot of one-day cricket, but I'm sure if he keeps in this rich vein of form he'll be hard to keep out."

The series against Bangladesh will start from March 1 with the ODIs, which will be followed by three T20Is. The Three Lions are currently in South Africa for a three-match ODI series. The hosts have already won the series with one ODI to go.

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