Ian Bell 'absolutely gutted' after being dropped from tour of South Africa

New Delhi: Within hours after the news broke that Ian Bell was omitted from the 16-man England squad for the tour of South Africa next month, the Englishman expressed his disappointment publicly.

Bell took to micro-blogging site Twitter to speak his heart out after being replaced by Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance for the tour. Bell tweeted that he was "absolutely gutted" to miss out on selection.

I'm absolutely gutted not to be selected for the tour to SA. I certainly feel I could have contributed out there & have been working... — Ian Bell (@Ian_Bell) November 19, 2015

However, in the following tweets, the stylish right-hander made it clear that retirement is not on his mind.

..tirelessly 2 get into the best possible condition for the tour. I'm going2enjoy a winter break with my family for the 1st time in 11yrs..

— Ian Bell (@Ian_Bell) November 19, 2015

..and come back determined to win my place back. Wishing all the guys selected the best of luck. — Ian Bell (@Ian_Bell) November 19, 2015

Samit Patel has retained his place in the squad, while Liam Plunkett couldn't manage to find a spot despite being in the squad for the Pakistan series.

England Squad for the Tour:

Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Nick Compton, Mark Footitt, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Samit Patel, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Chris Woakes