The first ODI is at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on November 7 and there was good news for the locals with their own Nafees Iqbal, the Bangladesh Under-19 captain, making an expected entry.

There were three changes to the team from the Test series. Injured fast bowler Mashrafee bin-Mortuza was replaced by fellow paceman Anwar Hossain Monir while opener Javed Omar and young left-arm spinner Enamul Haq Jr were dropped.

Uncapped batsman Moniru-zzaman retained his place and could make his debut as a middle-order player rather than in his customary opener's slot.

There were no rooms also for right-arm pacer Hasibul Hossain and middle-order batsman Tushar Imran who had toured Pakistan as one-day specialists.

Spinner Jamal Uddin from Khulna was not in the initial plans of the selectors but chief selector Faruque Ahmed said that the 26-year-old offered qualities ideal for the abridged version of the game.

"We are searching for a good spinner. We already watched three (Mosaddeq Hossain, Fahim Mun-tasir and Ali Arman) but unfortunately none of them impressed. Besides Enamul Jr. is more suited to the longer version, so we picked Jamal who is the best remaining option," said Faruque.

"He has played as a spinner-all-rounder during the last three seasons for City Club and is match fit because he is now playing in the national championship. He has the ability to score some runs in the late order," added Faruque.

Coach Dav Whatmore was also expecting Jamal Uddin to come good.

"I seen him in the training and he looked a good player," said Whatmore over phone from Chittagong.

Right-hander Nafees Iqbal, who came into reckoning after a stroke-filled 118 against England in a practice game last month, appears a good bet to make his ODI debut on his home ground.

"We believe Nafees would be a better opener than Javed Omar in the one dayers. We had experimented with the opening position in Pakistan but could not find the right pairing. But Nafees has the potential to fill the vacuum and may form a solid partnership with Hannan Sarker," said Faruque.

Iqbal, who is now leading the Under-19s in Pakistan in the Youth Asia Cup, is expected to arrive back home on November 5 to make himself available for the first ODI.

Faruque was however worried with the Tigers' recent batting record in ODIs and feels they score far less runs than desired.

"We should score at least 220 to 230 runs to be competitive in a match. But frankly speaking, there is a lack of players in the squad with the ability to take advantage of the first 15 overs," said Faruque.

Faruque felt that Munir was the right replacement for Mashrafee.

"He is quicker than the other bowlers who are available. His line and length is very good which is vital in one-dayers and personally, I believe he is a bright prospect for excelling at the highest level of the game."

SQUAD

Khaled Mahmud (captain), Habibul Bashar (vice-captain), Khaled Mashud, Hannan Sarker, Rajin Saleh, Alok Kapali, Mushfiqur Rahman, Mohammad Rafique, Taposh Baisya, Moniruzzaman, Anwar Hossain Munir, Jamal Uddin and Nafees Iqbal.