Sir Ian Botham feels Andrew Strauss will regret missing the tour of Bangladesh and should be there with his team.
Strauss opted to miss the Asian leg of the winter schedule after captaining England to Ashes success last summer and gaining a creditable 1-1 draw in South Africa.
Alistair Cook has taken the captain's armband for the tour of Bangladesh with Strauss now set to be away from international duty until May, as he will also play no part in the upcoming World Twenty20.
The Tigers are the weakest of the Test playing nations and should not pose too many problems to Cook's men over the next couple of weeks but the majority of the cricket media believe that, regardless of the opposition, the captain should always be with his men.
Botham agrees with the doubters and cannot find any real positives for Strauss missing the tour.
"Andrew Strauss should be with the England side," he said. "The captain should be on board the ship - he's got to live with it.
"As captain, you need to be there with your team.
"I think it's a major mistake and I think people will remember this for a long time. I don't understand it.
"He can't be exhausted with his batting - he only averaged 24 in South Africa.
"It's not as if England have won their last three series and he's scoring 100s left, right and centre - he's not.
"He has been captain for just a year - and with the Ashes round the corner, he should be with the team.
"I was amazed he chose to take this time off - I was surprised he was given it."