Kevin Pietersen has been named in England's provisional 30-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20.
The controversial batsman's future in the national team has been the topic of much speculation following the humiliating Ashes whitewash, with several sources indicating team director Andy Flower is prepared to jettison him.
While the ECB confirmed in a statement that Pietersen has been initially chosen for the World Twenty20, the 33-year-old is not guaranteed to play in Bangladesh in March as the squad will be halved to a 15-man team following the three-match Twenty20 series against Australia.
Stuart Broad will lead the side, with Jonathan Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Michael Carberry, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root and Pietersen all included from the Test squad that was thumped 5-0 in the Ashes.
The surprise name in the squad is Lancashire's Stephen Parry, 28, a left-arm spinner and handy lower-order batsman. He is a one-day specialist, having played just six first-class matches.
England, the winners in 2010, will take on New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa and a qualifying team in the group stages of the event.
Limited overs coach Ashley Giles ruled out speculation about Pietersen's possible omission and is glad to have him in the squad.
"He's in the 30-man squad so yeah that's why he's in there. There was no discussion at all about leaving him out of there," said Giles.
"He's another million pound asset at least I would say. Kev might be worth a bit more than that.
"He's a fantastic player and he's shown that in T20 cricket - he's not played that much for me in T20 - but in other competitions how dangerous he can be."
England: Stuart Broad (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Michael Carberry, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Steven Parry, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright
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