Injured Taskin Ahmed receives surprise call-up to Bangladesh T20 WC squad

Dhaka: Despite nursing a side strain, pacer Taskin Ahmed was on Tuesday included in Bangladesh's squad for the T20 World Cup to be held in the Americas next month.

Ahmed, who has also been named the vice-captain, picked up the injury ahead of the fifth T20I against Zimbabwe last week.

But before that the 29-year-old had a great outing in the series, bagging eight wickets in four games at an impressive economy rate of 4.56.

The Tigers will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto, as all the familiar and experienced players have been included in the squad of 15. Opener Litton Das too has been named in the squad despite his poor recent form.

Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is the senior-most player in the squad, having featured in every event since its inception in 2007.

Bangladesh will start their campaign against Sri Lanka on June 7 in Dallas, Texas. They have been clubbed in Group D, which also has South Africa, Netherlands and Nepal.

It will be their ninth straight appearance in the tournament, qualifying this time based on the T20I Team Rankings criteria set by the International Cricket Council.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed (vc), Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan.

Travelling reserves: Hasan Mahmud, Afif Hossain.