Kapali in Bangladesh preliminary World Cup list

Bangladesh have announced their preliminary squad for the World Cup, and there were no major surprises in the 30-man pool. They have included allrounder Alok Kapali, who last played international cricket in 2008 before defecting to the ICL, and 21-year-old fast bowler Dolar Mahmud, who has not played for Bangladesh since October 2009.

With 65 caps, Kapali is an experienced player, but was erratic in his six years of international cricket, averaging 19.83 with the bat and 49.75 with his legspinners, before becoming part of the exodus to the ICL. It was that exodus that opened the doors for Mahmud to made his international debut, though he couldn't cement his place in the limited opportunities he got.

Bangladesh are riding high after two series wins on the trot - a 4-0 drubbing of New Zealand in October and a 3-1 victory over Zimbabwe in a series which ended on Sunday. They have no further international matches scheduled before February 19, when the global tournament starts.

Sri Lanka were the first team to announce their preliminary squad, doing so on December 13. All 14 teams participating in the tournament have to announce their preliminary line-ups by December 19, and zero in on the final fifteen before January 19 next year.

Preliminary Squad: Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Roqibul Hassan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Shahriar Nafees, Nazimuddin, Shamsur Rahman, Jahirul Islam, Sahagir Hossain, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Dolar Mahmud, Mithun Ali, Nasir Hossain, Shuvogoto Chowdhury, Shabbir Rahman, Alok Kapali, Enamul Haque Jr.