Shakib and Rasel included in preliminary squad

Bangladesh preliminary squad Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Shakib Al Hasan, Raqibul Hasan, Alok Kapali, Mahmudullah Riyad, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reza, Dolar Mahmud, Mosharraf Hossain, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Nazimuddin, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Syed Rasel, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Junaid Siddique

Shakib Al Hasan, the allrounder, and Syed Rasel, the left-arm seamer, have been included in Bangladesh's preliminary 21-man squad for the four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Toronto in August and the following tour of Australia. The squad will be trimmed before the team leaves for Canada.

Shakib opted out of the recent tri-series at home and the Asia Cup in Pakistan due to his academic examinations while Rasel had to sit out due to an injury.

A notable exclusion is Aftab Ahmed, the middle-order batsman who missed both tournaments due to a fractured finger. At the start of June, he was ruled out for six weeks. Nazmul Hussain, the right-arm fast bowler who took a five-wicket haul in Bangladesh A's tour of England, has been included, as well as batsman Naeem Islam.

The Twenty20 tournament, also featuring hosts Canada, Pakistan and West Indies runs between August 14 to 17. Bangladesh then head to Darwin, Australia, for a three-match ODI series between August 31 and September 6.