DHAKA: Rookie swing bowler Abu Jayed is pleasantly surprised by his selection in Bangladesh’s 15-member World Cup squad despite being an uncapped one-day player but now faces the challenge of making the playing XI in England and Wales.

Right-arm paceman Jayed, who has played five Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals but has yet to debut in One-day Internationals, was picked for his ability to swing the ball as he demonstrated in the two-Test series in New Zealand.

The 25-year-old has also shown strong form in an ongoing domestic 50-over tournament (DPL) and has taken nine wickets in his last five matches to strengthen his claim for a place in the World Cup squad.

“I played well in two matches of DPL recently and I felt I could have been in the 20-member preliminary squad,” he was quoted as saying on International Cricket Council website. “So, I was surprised when I heard that I am in the 15-member squad. It’s nice to be picked, but now the challenge is to make a place in the playing XI and repay the faith shown by the team management.”

Jayed’s selection came at the exp­e­nse of fellow paceman Taskin Ahmed, who missed the Zealand tour with an ankle injury.

Jayed has taken 11 wickets in the five Test matches he has played and was impressive in his last match against New Zealand at Wellington, where he took 3-94.

Jayed would now need to replicate his Test success with the white ball in England.

“I am playing for the last 10 years and during this time, had the opportunity to play a lot of cricket at different levels. So don’t think it will be a big problem,” he said. “I got appreciated for my ability to swing the ball even by some of the leading batsmen in New Zealand, who believed that if I can work on it I have a good chance of turning into a good bowler.

“Recently [captain] Mashrafe [Mortaza] told me that he is also optimistic about my ability to swing the ball.”

Bangladesh begin their campaign against South Africa at The Oval in London on June 2.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2019