Bangladesh have picked three uncapped players in their 16-man squad for the upcoming tour of England. Habibul Bashar has been retained as captain for the tour, in which they will play two Tests before competing in the one-day NatWest Series against England and Australia.

Shahadat Hossain, the fast bowler, Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, a middle-order batsman, and Mushfiqur Rahim, the reserve wicketkeeper, were the three new players picked. The rest of the squad was on expected lines, with Mohammad Rafique and Enamul Haque junior picked as the main spinners.

The naming of the squad came a day after Dav Whatmore signed a new deal that extended his contract by another two years, up to the 2007 World Cup. Faruque Ahmed, the chief selector, felt that Whatmore's experiences with coaching Lancashire will hold the team in good stead during the trip: "The tour will be a tough experience for our boys because of the completely different conditions in England," Ahmed told the Sky Sports website. "But we are now spirited by having our coach for another two years."

Bangladesh squad
Nafis Iqbal, Javed Omar, Habibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful, Rajin Saleh, Aftab Ahmed, Khaled Mashud (wk), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shahriar Nafees Ahmed, Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haque jr, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Tapash Baisya, Anwar Hossain, Talha Zubair, Shahadat Hossain.