The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will announce a 14-member squad today for next month's ICC Champions Trophy in England. The four-member selection committee led by Faruque Ahmed had a long discussion yesterday and almost finalised the squad but had to delay the announcement to know whether it was all right to take left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak
Razzak, who was the one only player to impress in Bangladesh's forgettable Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, has been under ICC scrutiny after he was reported for having a suspect action by Sri Lankan match referee Roshan Mahanama in the game against Pakistan.
Although the selectors were unwilling to talk about the likely composition of the team it was understood that they want a clarification from the Board about Razzak's playing status. The Board is awaiting video footage of the bowler's from the ICC to know where Razzak stands.
The 22-year-old Razzak took three wickets on debut against Hong Kong in the regional competition and also bowled impressively against Pakistan.
When asked whether the delay was due to knowing the fate of Razzak, Faruque Ahmed dismissed it saying that the team for the Champions Trophy would be announced on August 8 as scheduled.
"There is no question of the announcement being delayed. We will disclose it on Sunday as planned. Though we have an idea of the team's make-up still there are aspects that need to be discussed. We will sit again tomorrow morning to finalise it," said the former Bangladesh captain.
But it appears that the selectors are going to make at least three changes in an effort to give some kind of solidity to the brittle batting line-up that was so evident in Sri Lankan.
Bangladesh failed to cross the 200-mark in their last four games India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who eventually won the title. There is a strong possibility that the selectors will pick three fresh faces from the Bangladesh Under-19 team, which is now touring England.
The most likely candidates are opener Nafees Iqbal and his free-stroking Chittagong mate Aftab Ahmed. The other Under-19 candidate is right-arm pacer Nazmul Hossain.
The Tigers will start their camp for the Champions Trophy on August 9. They will leave Dhaka on August 26 for London to play two practice matches each against Ireland and Scotland before their first group game against South Africa on September 12.
Their next match is against West Indies on September 15.
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