Ayub, Al-Amin Hossain named in Bangladesh A squad

Only two uncapped players have been named in the Bangladesh A side that will tour England next month. Batsman Marshall Ayub and seamer Al-Amin Hossain have not played international cricket although the former was in the senior squad in the Test series against Sri Lanka in March this year.

Mashrafe Mortaza has been named as a standby and is likely to join the squad for the matches against England Lions, which starts on August 20. "Mashrafe is nearing full fitness, so we want to monitor him as much as possible. Once the physio and doctors think he is match fit, we will send him to England," said Akram.

Imrul Kayes and Raqibul Hasan, who last played international cricket two years ago, have been included alongside young batsmen Anamul Haque and Mominul Haque. Naeem Islam, who missed the tours to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe due to a hamstring injury, has also made it to the Bangladesh A side.

Pacemen Rubel Hossain and Robiul Islam are high-profile inclusions, both having recovered from minor injuries. They will have the support of allrounder Farhad Reza and Al-Amin in the bowling line-up. There were calls for younger players to be included in the A team but the scheduling of the tournament in Singapore, which clashes with the A team's schedule, did not help the selectors.

"We had to make balanced sides for both Bangladesh A and the Under-23s," said chief selector Akram Khan. "We wanted to give a chance to those who are likely to play in the senior team in the upcoming season. We also kept players who are young and have recently made their debuts for Bangladesh."

The Under-23 squad for the ACC Emerging Nations Cup to be held in Singapore in mid-August was also announced. It mainly contains performers from this season's domestic competitions. Liton Kumar Das and Sabbir Rahman are among the in-form players in the younger squad, with paceman Dewan Sabbir Ahmed earning a surprise call up. He is the only player in the squad not to have played first-class cricket yet.

Bangladesh A will be off to England on August 2. They are scheduled to play five one-day matches against various county sides before the three-match one-day series against England Lions.

The Under-23s have been placed in Group B of the ACC Emerging Nations Cup, alongside Sri Lanka Under-23s and the senior sides of UAE and hosts Singapore. They will be leave Dhaka on August 14.

Bangladesh A squad: Elias Sunny, Ziaur Rahman, Jahurul Islam, Naeem Islam, Anamul Haque, Sohag Gazi, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Marshall Ayub, Robiul Islam, Imrul Kayes, Raqibul Hasan, Farhad Reza, Al-Amin Hossain

Under-23 squad: Liton Kumar Das, Mizanur Rahman, Myshukur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Asif Ahmed, Alauddin Babu, Mahmudul Hasan, Noor Hossain, Taijul Islam, Nazmul Islam Apu, Dewan Sabbir Ahmed, Ariful Haque, Abu Jayed Chowdhury.