Taijul, Taskin Included in Bangladesh WC Squad

Dhaka: Allrounder Soumya Sarkar has been included in Bangladesh's 15-man squad for the 2015 World Cup.

Sarkar, who made his ODI debut in the fifth and final ODI against Zimbabwe, has enjoyed a good run of form in the domestic one-day competition for Prime Bank.

In the recent game against Abahani Ltd, Sarkar chipped in with 97 off 91 balls, including seven fours and seven sixes. He also picked up 2/36 to win the Man-of-the-Match award as Prime Bank won the match by nine wickets.

The squad will be led by Mashrafe Mortaza while Shakib Al Hasan will be the vice-captain. The squad also sees the inclusion of Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed. Taijul had a sensational ODI debut against Zimbabwe where he picked up 4/11 and became the first bowler to take a hat-trick on ODI debut.

During the first Test in Dhaka, Taijul picked up 8/39, the best haul by a Bangladesh bowler in Tests as they secured a tense three-wicket win. Taskin had a fantastic start to his ODI career during the series against India. Bowling with good pace and generating good bounce, Taskin bagged a five-wicket haul on debut during the second ODI in Mirpur in June.

There is no place for Abdur Razzak and Sohag Gazi. Razzak is currently nursing a hamstring injury and he did not feature in the series against Zimbabwe.

Gazi, on the other hand, was not even picked in the 30-man probables because he was banned from bowling due to a suspect action. Abul Hasan, who played in the ODIs against Zimbabwe, has been left out while Shamsur Rahman, who had a poor run in 2014, has been omitted.

Bangladesh will play two warm-up games before the 2015 World Cup. They will take on Pakistan in Sydney on February 9 followed by a clash against Ireland on February 12.

In the main tournament, they are placed in Group A and will start their campaign against Afghanistan on February 18 in Canberra.

Bangladesh World Cup squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taijul Islam