Bell has not played Test cricket since November 2015

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Ian Bell is eager to be part of England’s Test squad when they tour Bangladesh next month and India towards the end of the year.

The England and Warwickshire batsman has fallen out of favour with the national selectors as of late and as a result, he has not played Test cricket since November last year.

Despite this, Bell is hoping that he will be recalled, especially as Alex Hales and limited overs captain Eoin Morgan withdrew from the tour of Bangladesh due to security concerns.

“I think it’s a really exciting winter for English cricket,” Bell told Sky Sports. “The subcontinent is a tough place to go, and to win out there particularly in India is tough. The cricket will be hard as Bangladesh are improving all the time as we’ve seen.

“England want to improve their skills and win some cricket on the subcontinent, so it’s going to be an exciting winter and hopefully I’m part of that, but if I’m watching it then I hope the guys go well.”

While Bell is optimistic that he will be included in the squad for the trip to Bangladesh, he insisted that his primary focus is on Warwickshire’s last two matches of the season, the first of which is the Royal London One Day Cup final against Surrey on Saturday.

“I know what it’s like to play for England. I know how tough it is and your job in the top order is to score runs but I’m just concentrating on what we’re doing at Warwickshire,” he said. “That’s where I’m at at the minute, concentrating on what I’ve got to do and Warwickshire have got to do right now.”

When asked whether the England players will lose some respect for Morgan for withdrawing from the tour of Bangladesh, Bell said: “I don’t think that will be from the players. I think the players will be very united. They will back Morgy and he’s been a fantastic captain for England so I don’t think that will be any pressure from inside but I’m sure lots of people will talk and lots of people will have their opinions.”