I don't see the mileage of taking Ian Bell: Nasser Hussain

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain feels that calling back the veteran batsman Ian Bell back into the side for the subcontinent tour will be a backward step, considering the future of England cricket.

Ian Bell is well on his way to get back into the side, with the England middle-order falling consistently. James Vince, Nick Compton and Gary Ballance has failed to live up to the expectations, which opened the door for the management to think about bringing the veteran batsman back to the squad.

“There is no doubting Ian Bell’s class and his record in the sub-continent – I think he averages over 40 in the sub-continent,” Hussain told Sky Sports on Tuesday.

He pointed out that Bell was dropped from the squad following a poor run in the UAE. “But he didn’t have a good time of it in the UAE recently and that is why he was left out. I would personally like to look to the future, especially with the tour of Bangladesh. I don’t see the mileage of taking Bell, albeit a fantastic player, so I would look to the future,” he said.

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“But they have gone for a couple of players like Vince who haven’t done much and might want that consistent solidity that Ian Bell would bring,” he added.

England is about to tour Bangladesh and India later this year and Hussain believes that at least for the Bangladesh tour, England should try to employ youngsters. “I personally would look to, especially in Bangladesh, blood a youngster and give a youngster an opportunity. Whether that youngster be (Ben) Duckett, who has not just done it in one-day cricket, or other lads like (Tom) Westley, (Daniel) Bell-Drummond, (Scott) Borthwick… There are other lads who have done fine things this summer.”

“It would be a bit of a backward step but I understand that they keep giving people chances and they are not taking them, so there is that temptation to go back to Ian Bell who is a very fine international cricketer,” he concluded.