Afghan-born Zainullah Ihsan picked in Scotland's World Cup squad

Zainullah Ihsan has earned his maiden international call-up after being named in Scotland's 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. The Afghan-born fast bowler is the only uncapped player in the group, having recently qualified to represent Scotland. His inclusion headlines the first squad selection overseen by new men's head coach Owen Dawkins.

"There's obviously a great opportunity for Zainullah Ihsan, and whenever he's played at youth level or for the 'A' squad he's shown an exciting range of skills and bowled at genuine pace. We're delighted for him and excited to see how he performs on his first international tour," said Steve Snell, head of performance at Cricket Scotland.

Richie Berrington will lead the side, which sees as many as 11 players from Scotland's 2024 World Cup squad in the West Indies and USA picked again. Tom Bruce, Finlay McCreath and Oliver Davidson are set to feature at a World Cup for the first time.

Scotland are an 11th hour entrant to the World Cup, having only been approached to participate last week as the next-highest ranked team, replacing Bangladesh, who wanted their games shifted out of India, a request the ICC did not entertain.

"It's been a whirlwind forty-eight hours for everyone at Cricket Scotland… We're all very excited and feeling privileged to have this opportunity," head coach Dawkins said.

"We have no doubt we have players in our squad that can make a real impact in this tournament, and we are excited to be going and competing in India."

With limited preparation time available, Scotland have also named two travelling reserves – Jasper Davidson and Jack Jarvis – along with three non-travelling reserves. The final squad remains subject to visa approvals. Scotland will open their World Cup campaign against West Indies at the Eden Gardens on February 7.

Squad: Richie Berrington (c), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, Chris Greaves, Zainullah Ihsan, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Finlay McCreath, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Mark Watt, Bradley Wheal

Travelling reserves: Jasper Davidson, Jack Jarvis

Non-travelling reserves: Mackenzie Jones, Chris McBride, Charlie Tear