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England rest Strauss for Bangladesh tour

Current vice-captain Alastair Cook will lead a 16-man squad for the test and one-day series in Bangladesh while Paul Collingwood will skipper the side in two Twenty20 internationals against Pakistan which precede it in Dubai.

Anderson has been left out so that he can receive treatment on a recurring knee injury before the World Twenty20 tournament in West Indies in April.

“Andrew Strauss has provided outstanding leadership for the team in both forms of the game over the past 12 months and the selectors feel it is important that he takes a break ahead of an extremely busy programme of international cricket leading up to and including the Ashes series in Australia and the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011,” National Selector Geoff Miller said after the squads were announced.

Three uncapped players get the chance to stake their claims with Yorkshire pace bowler Ajmal Shahzad, Kent off-spinner James Tredwell and Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry all included in the test squad.

Strauss, who replaced Kevin Pietersen a year ago, has had a demanding 12 months with home and away series against West Indies followed by an Ashes triumph against Australia and a tough test series in South Africa which ended 1-1 on Sunday.

There have been signs that his game has begun to suffer and in South Africa he averaged just 24 in eight innings. England’s 2010 schedule includes the visit of Pakistan and ends with the defence of the Ashes in Australia.

The decision to rest Strauss gives Cook the chance to enhance his captaincy skills in what could be a tricky two-test series against an emerging Bangladesh side currently giving India a tough time.

“Our decision to appoint Alastair Cook to the Test vice captaincy last year clearly demonstrated the belief that he has the potential to be a future England captain,” Miller said.

“Alastair will now have an opportunity to develop his leadership skills still further by leading the side in both forms of cricket in Bangladesh and I know that he is excited by the challenge and looking forward to working closely with (team manager) Andy Flower.”

England arrive in Dubai on Feb. 14 and depart for Bangladesh a week later where they will play three one-day internationals followed by two tests in March.