Kapali dropped by Bangladesh for Champions Trophy

The Bangladesh selectors today named their 14-man squad for the Champions Trophy in England next month. They surprisingly left out Alok Kapali, the middle-order batsman who played in the recent Asia Cup, and replaced him with Nafis Iqbal, the opening batsman who has played in only two one-dayers.

Kapali only scored 45 runs in six innings during the Asia Cup, and his poor performances have opened the way back for Iqbal, who played two one-dayers against England last year, and who also scored a century against them for Bangladesh A.

Other casualties included Faisal Hossain and Abdur Razzaq, the left-arm spinner who was called for throwing in the Asia Cup and is undergoing remedial work. They made way for the uncapped duo off Aftab Ahmed, a batsman, and quick bowler Nazmul Hossain.

Faruq Ahmed, Bangladesh's chief selector, said: "It is about getting the right combination."

The squad departs for England on August 26, and they will play Scotland in two warm-up matches on September 1 and 3. Bangladesh's opening game of the tournament is against South Africa at Edgbaston on September 12.

Bangladesh squad for Champions Trophy
Habibul Bashar (capt), Rajin Saleh, Mohammad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Nafis Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahman, Khaled Mahmud, Khaled Mashud (wk), Mohammad Rafique, Manjurul Islam Rana, Tapash Baisya, Tareq Aziz, Nazmul Hossain.