Collingwood appointed as Cook's Bangladesh deputy

With Andrew Strauss rested due to concerns over burnout, Alastair Cook is the man in charge for the duration of the five-week trip, which gets under way today.

He went public with his desire to have an official second in command before the team visited Dubai last week for a drawn Twenty20 series against Pakistan and with a small list of realistic options, Pietersen was in the running. That would have been a remarkable turnaround for the batsman, who was forced to relinquish the captaincy after the briefest of reigns in January 2009 following a row with then coach Peter Moores, who was axed in the aftermath.

Team director Flower admitted Pietersen had been considered as Cook's right-hand man for the matches but settled instead on Twenty20 captain Collingwood.

The Durham all-rounder is a former ODI captain himself, but voluntarily gave up the position having found it too draining.

He now has no long-term leadership ambition outside of Twenty20, something which may not be true of Pietersen.

"Paul Collingwood will be vice-captain for the Bangladesh tour, in both forms of the game," Flower said. "England sides in the past haven't bothered nominating a vice-captain, but we'd like him to do it on this tour for both one-dayers and the Tests, though he'll only get the nod if Cook gets injured.

"I discussed it briefly with Alastair, and with the selectors and (managing director) Hugh Morris. The last time Colly captained one-dayers, it took a lot out of him and he doesn't want to put his name forward in a medium-to-long-term capacity for the captaincy. But he knows this would only be a stop-gap measure.

"He did a good job in the Twenty20s and if someone gets injured he's quite happy to step into the breach."

Asked how close he had come to welcoming Pietersen back into a formal leadership role, the Zimbabwean coach said: "We had to consider all options as possible leadership candidates, and Kevin was one of them. He was up for consideration like everyone else, but in the end it was a simple cricketing decision."

Despite opting for 33-year-old Collingwood, Flower suggested he would still be looking for Pietersen to play a supportive role to Cook. "I think both Colly and KP will help him," said Flower. "But most important for Alastair is that he is quite clear in his own head how he wants to lead the side and how he will deal with the eternal challenge for cricket captains: leading a team while also making sure that your own game is in order."

A fierce late onslaught from Abdul Razzaq ensured Pakistan drew the two-match Twenty20 series against England with a four-wicket win in Dubai.

Razzaq was in irresistible form at the finish, striking five colossal sixes in a match-winning knock of 46 in only 18 deliveries.

England, who set a winning target of 149, had earlier played themselves into pole position on the back of Pietersen's dominant 62 and Graeme Swann's spell of 3-14 in four overs.

Debutant Ajmal Shahzad experienced the highs and lows of international cricket, the Yorkshire bowler taking two wickets in his first over but shelling 17 runs in the penultimate over as Razzaq dragged his side over the line.