The 19-year-old Mehrab was the only new face in a team that is desperately looking for some solidity in the opening stand for the second best glamorous one-day event after the World Cup.

Javed apart, all-rounder Alok Kapali, wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and middle-order batsman Tushar Imran were also omitted from the team that played in the trip to Africa last month.

Chief selector Faruque Ahmed announced the team yesterday outside the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium indoor facilities where he confirmed that injured skipper Habibul Bashar would be fully fit well before the start of the tournament to be held on October-November.

All the discussions regarding the team selection, however, centred on Javed Omar as many believed that the time has come to give the opener, who has been in and out in the team for a long time, a clear message about his one-day fate.

But Faruque was not ready to write off the right-hander's career even though he was contradicting his own comments.

"We don't want to look back as we are looking for a genuine opening combination before the next World Cup. The opening (combination) is a real headache for the team," said Faruque who immediately added "his (Javed's) World Cup dream was not shattered as he is not out of the race".

Since his debut in one-day internationals in 1995 against India at Sharjah, Javed played 53 matches intermittently and was last ignored from the one-day side for the second leg of the Africa trip along with Kapali after a string of poor scores.

The selectors, however, were very confident about the future of Mehrab, a left-handed batsman who also bowls very useful left-arm spin, and were hopeful that he will impress them like the two all-rounders Forhad Reza and Sakib Al Hasan, both of whom debuted in the tours to Zimbabwe and Kenya.

"What attracted us most about Mehrab was his controlled batting. We have a lot of hard-hitting batsman in the squad and his role would be to play as an anchorman at the top of the order," explained the former national skipper.

"He is only 19 but we are really impressed by his maturity which he has shown in his performance over the last two years in different levels like Under-19 competition, with the A team and the domestic competitions.

"He is basically an opener but we used him as a middle-order batsman in the last Under-19 competition because there were too many openers in the team. It's a great quality that one player can bat in any position, " he added.

Coach Dav Whatmore said that the youngster had the prospect to represent the national team.

"I have seen him in Under-19 competitions and some other tournaments and what I have seen is that he has a very bright future. But lot depends on him whether he wants to realise his potential," said Whatmore.

"Mehrab is a very methodical player. He can make up for a slow start, ending with a strike rate of over 70," he added when asked about the strengths of the all-rounder that prompted the final inclusion.

Replying to a question, Faruque said that they were pleased with the progress in fitness of Bashar, who returned home after the second one-day international against Zimbabwe at Harare after injuring his left metacarpal.

"We can't give you hundred per cent assurance about his recovery but the current state has given us the confidence that he will be fully fit well before time," he informed.

Bangladesh will play the qualifying round of the tournament along with Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe, starting on October 7. Top two finishers will join the six seeded teams -- Australia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and England -- in the final round.

The Tigers are expected to play two practice games at home and one in Mohali before embarking on the real battle.

Squad
Habibul Bashar (captain), Shahriar Nafees (vice-captain), Khaled Mashud, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mashrafee Bin Mortuza, Rajin Saleh, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Forhad Reza, Sakib Al Hasan and Mehrab Hossain Jr.