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Shahadat, Shahriar Nafees drafted in

Sports Reporter
Left-handed opening batsman Shahriar Nafees Ahmed and fast bowler Shahadat Hossain Rajib were the two fresh faces when the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 20-member preliminary squad yesterday for the upcoming tourof England in May.
There were also recalls to the national fold for middle-order batsman Tushar Imran and right-arm paceman Anwar Hossain Munirwho have been rewarded for their consistent performances for the Bangladesh A team and the BCB XI respectively.
The four-member selection panel however, largely kept faith on players who had appeared against Zimbabwe in the historic home series in January where Bangladesh recorded their maiden Test and one-day series victories, while overlooking the leading performers of the ongoing National Cricket League. The selectors also seemingly shut the door on the estranged Alok Kapali having persisted with the nonperforming prodigy for a long time.
"We had considered two things before selecting the preliminary squad. We thought that there was no need to make any changes from the last series against Zimbabwe. But we also felt the need to add a couple of new faces who have real potential," said chief selector FaruqueAhmed.
Both Shahriar Nafees and Shahadat had starred with the Bangladesh A side during the recently concluded series against Zimbabwe A.
The talent of 18-year old Shahadat, reputed to be the fastest bowler in the country, had been first spotted during the 2004 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh and his 12 wickets in the first two Tests against Zimbabwe A were instrumental in theireventual clean sweep.
Shahriar Nafees brings a welcome new dimension to the Tigers batting. Bangladesh have never had a specialist left-hander opening the innings and the 19-year old is expected to push more established players for a slot in the final 16 to England. He made 218 runs against
ZimbabweAin the three Tests.
Another advantage the teenagers have is the fact that both had toured England with the Under 19s last year. The preliminary list has six pacers and four left-arm spinners and just one all-rounder in veteran Khaled Mahmud, who is likely to be considered for only the one-day side despite a superb run of form in the domestic first class competition for Dhaka.
"We have packed the preliminary side with pace bowlers considering the English conditions which traditionally assist seamers," said Faruque.
Bangladesh will play two Tests in their first ever series in England and then take part in a triangular one-day tournament with Australia and the hosts.
The preliminary camp starts on April 4 and the players have been asked to report to coach Dav Whatmore at the Army Stadium at 9am on that day.
PRELIMINARY SQUAD
Habibul Bashar, Khaled Mashud, Khaled Mahmud, Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Rajin Saleh, Nafees Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Tushar Imran, Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, Mohammad Rafique, Manzarul Islam Rana, Enamul Haque, Mashrafee Bin Mortuza, Tapash Baisya, Nazmul Hossain, Anwar Hossain Munir, Talha Jubair, Shahadat Hossain Rajib and Abdur Razzak Raj.