Razzak lands Bangladesh call-up

Bangladesh have called up Abdur Razzak, the young left-arm spinner, for the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Impressive performances for Bangladesh A in Zimbabwe recently were the main reason for his selection, said Faruk Ahmed, Bangladesh's chairman of selectors.

Razzak, 24, has played 14 one-day internationals for the senior side. He has taken 18 wickets at an average of 26.77 with best bowling figures of 3 for 17 against Sri Lanka in 2004.

Bangladesh are due to play five one-day internationals in Zimbabwe starting on July 29 followed by three one-day internationals in Kenya starting on August 12. Habibul Bashar, the national captain, remained confident of picking up a first overseas victory. "We have displayed a lot of improvement in recent times, so it is fair to say we are favourites for both series," he told reporters. "We know it won't be as easy as when we played at home. But we still believe we have enough fire power to beat them under their conditions."

Added Dav Whatmore, the coach: "We are very confident that we can win the series, but we do need to adjust [to the conditions] as quickly as possible."

Last year, Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe 3-2 in a one-day series before going on to rout Kenya 4-0 in March to register their two home series victories to date.