Ahmed is set to make his ODI debut at the age of 19

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Uncapped batsman Mithun Ali and 19-year-old pace bowler Taskin Ahmed have been picked for the upcoming ODI series against India.

Both Ali and Ahmed have represented Bangladesh in one Twenty20 International and are now set to make their ODI debuts.

Ahmed, who is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the country, recently recovered from a devastating knee injury he suffered during the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

“We have kept more or less a settled squad but it is also important to get an idea about the kind of back up we have in our hands as we start preparing for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand,” Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Faruque Ahmed said. “Mithun [Ali] has been under our radar for a while. He has performed consistently in the limited overs format and in the longer version as well during the last couple of years and deserves a chance at international level.

“Taskin [Ahmed] is an exciting prospect and has already played a Twenty20 international. We thought it was a good opportunity to see how he performs in the 50-over game in home conditions against some quality batsmen.”

Ahmed added that due to the large number of pace bowlers to choose from, he had no choice but to omit Rubel Hossain.

“Al Amin has bowled impressively since his debut and Mashrafe Mortaza is our most experienced campaigner,” Ahmed said. “We also have a seam-bowling all-rounder in Ziaur Rahman. Because of these pace options and squad balance Rubel Hossain misses out. The spin department is well covered with Abdur Razzak, Shakib Al Hasan and Sohag Gazi. Mahmudullah is also quite handy and can do a job for his captain.”

Bangladesh Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mithun Ali, Abdur Razzak, Masrafe Mortaza, Shohag Gazi, Ziaur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed