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Minhazul Abedin gets ICC clearance, Jahangir stand-by

Prospects high up to Scotland

Veteran all-rounder Minhazul Abedin has been formally included in the 15-man World Cup squad, which will fly to England tonight. Minhazul will replace wicketkeeper-batsman Jahangir Alam, who will also travel with the team to England as first stand-by player.

This was revealed by manager Tanveer Muzhar Islam at a press conference arranged by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) at the Bangabandhu National Stadium lounge yesterday afternoon in connection with the team's departure.

Skipper Aminul Islam, his deputy Khaled Mahmud, two BCB joint-secretaries Mahmud Ul Haque and Dewan Shafiul Arefin, and BCB treasurer Afzalur Rahman Sinha were also present at the briefing. Coach Gordon Greenidge was the surprise absentee.

``We received the ICC clearance on Monday, following which we have decided to drop Jahangir from the team with the permission of the BCB president,'' said Islam at the crowded conference. He also informed that BCB will delete one cricketer from the reserve list to accommodate Jahangir.

Replying to a question whether Minhaz would be fully fit because of his absence from the camp for more than a month, Islam said, ``The decision to include Minhaz was taken by the board''.

In this regard, skipper Aminul said that going to England a month before the tournament would be good enough for Minhazul to get fit for playing in the World Cup.

When Aminul was asked why did he earlier say that the previous selection of 15 men sans Minhazul was the best job done by the selection committee, Aminul said, ``Yes, I thought we had the best possible side. But after the Meril Cup in Dhaka, I was proved wrong and I deeply felt that we lack in the middle order. That's why we are now all happy to get back Minhazul in the squad''.

About the World Cup prospects, Tanna said that defeating Scotland in Scotland will not be a very easy task as they have included four cricketers, who were among the 30-man England probables.

``Anyway, we will still fight it out. Scotland is the team we are looking forward to play and we will not leave any room to give our best in Edinburgh,'' said Tanna.

Talking on the same point, the Bangladesh captain Aminul said that playing Scotland in Asia and at their home was not the same.

``The pitch condition in Scotland is almost similar to that in England, which is very difficult to assimilate. That's why we are going to England a month ahead of the tournament so that we can adjust ourselves.

``However, since we will be playing practice matches against three counties, who are better sides than Scotland, I think that will give us extra confidence before we meet them.

``We are not only thinking about Scotland, we are also considering to play well against the other Test-playing nations right from our first match against the Kiwis. You see, one-day game is like a lottery. The team playing better on a particular day will be the winners. So you can not write off an upset,'' said Aminul.

A milad mahfil was held after the press conference at the Bangabandhu National Stadium where, among others, all the members of the team and the BCB president Saber Hossain Chowdhury were present.

Bangladesh team will fly to Cardiff tonight from where they will move to Jarvis Hotel in Watford, which will be their base for the month-long conditioning camp.

Former England fast bowler Alan Ward and former Pakistan captain and coach Mushtaq Mohammad will act as bowling assistants to coach Gordon Greenidge during the training.

Before their World Cup fixture, Bangladesh will play three warm-up matches. Bangladesh will meet Essex, their host county, in the first match at Chelmsford on May 8. The other two matches -- that against Middlesex at Southgate and against Northamptonshire at Northampton -are scheduled for May 10 and 12.

The following are the members of the Bangladesh team:

Aminul Islam (captain), Khaled Mahmud (vice-captain), Khaled Mashud, Shahriar Hossain, Mehrab Hossain, Minhazul Abedin, Faruque Ahmed, Akram Khan, Hasibul Hossain, Shafiuddin Ahmed, Manjurul Islam, Mohammad Rafique, Naimur Rahman, Enamul Hoque, Neeyamur Rashid and Jahangir Alam (stand by)

Officials: Tanveer Mazhar Tanna (manager), Dewan Shafiul Arefin (co-ordinator), Gordon Greenidge(coach) and Alan Hunt (physiotherapist).