DHAKA: Bangladesh cricket chiefs on Thursday added star opener Tamim Iqbal to the squad for the Asia Cup, reversing an earlier controversial decision by the board president to axe him.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP the opener, widely regarded as the country's best batsman, would "join the team straightway, after he was declared fit by the cricket operations officials.
"Tamim was dropped from the side because the board president was informed that he was suffering from typhoid and also he has not been playing cricket for about two months," he said, adding the inclusion expands the team to 15.
The decision comes a day after the board's chief selector Akram Khan resigned, citing interference from BCB president Mustafa Kamal in team selection for the Asia Cup, which begins on Sunday.
Khan told AFP on Wednesday that Tamim was originally in the side he selected for the Asia Cup, but Kamal omitted the 22-year-old from the final squad announced on Tuesday.
Tamim, a nephew of Khan, won the Wisden Cricketer magazine's Test Player of the Year award in 2010.
The opening batsman has scored 3,115 runs in 109 one-day matches since his debut in 2007. He also has 1,748 Test runs from 24 matches.
But he was stripped of the vice-captaincy after Bangladesh's tour of Zimbabwe last year, reportedly due to indiscipline and arguments with the team management.
The Asia Cup, seen as a symbol of cricket supremacy in the continent, features defending champions India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and hosts Bangladesh.
Bangladesh squad:
Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Nazimuddin, Tamim Iqbal, Jahurul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Elias Sunny, Nazmul Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Anamul Haque.
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