Samit Patel has come through the Nottinghamshire academy

Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell says Samit Patel is working hard on his fitness and has backed the all-rounder to regain his England spot.

Patel, 24, was sent home from the tour of the West Indies for fitness reasons.

But he has been named in England's provisional 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 and Newell told BBC Radio Nottingham he deserves his recall.

"He's been pretty full-on. As well as playing pre-season games, he's trained either end of the day," Newell said.

"I think it would be disappointing if he wasn't in the squad in the longer term.

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"I expected him to be in this 30-man squad. The main thing is to make sure he's in the 15."

Patel was a key figure for Nottinghamshire last season, as the county challenged for both the Championship and National League titles.

He was sent home from England's tour of the Caribbean after "failing to reach acceptable standards of fitness for international cricket."

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