The new-look Pakistan one-day squad arrived at Dhaka for the upcoming home series against Bangladesh in a very low-key manner on Monday.
Pakistan will play three one-day internationals along with two Test matches and a Twenty20 international beginning on April 17.
Unlike the past when Pakistani players and officials were the toast of local photographers on their arrival, it was totally different scenario this time as they opted to leave the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport without leaving any clue for most of them.
Security was beefed up inside the airport area and journalists were stopped at the entrance of the VIP gate contrary to the usual practices seen during the visit of other teams.
It was learnt that the Pakistani team officials had expressed their desire to maintain a very low-key profile with the media as coach Waqar Yunis would like to have all the players focused on their jobs at hand.
Immediately after their arrival at the team hotel players joined an optional gym session followed by session in the pool.
Pakistan will attend their first training session today at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and will formally begin their tour with a warm-up match against BCB XI at Fatullah on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh began their full-fledged preparation on Monday with two sessions being conducted by coach Chandika Hathurusinghe.
All-rounder Sakib al Hasan took rest as he arrived from Indian Premier League on Sunday while Rubel Hossain also had to skip the training for attending a court hearing.
The morning session was compromised with physical exercises at the gymnasium before coach took the players to the centre wicket in the evening for skill training under floodlights.
In between the sessions, Hathurusinghe held an hour-long meeting with the players when he emphasised on starting everything from the scratch leaving behind the World Cup euphoria.
While players are keen to start afresh, batsman Mominul Haque said he is happy to return home and make some runs in the Bangladesh Cricket League final.
The left-hander was some sort of a flop in the World Cup and doubts were raised over his inclusion in the squad.
‘The tournament was really good and on top of that I managed to score that innings in the final,’ said Mominul, who scored 78 in the final.
‘Confidence at this point of time is really important for me and having done well in that innings, my confidence has improved a lot.’
Mominul pointed out that he is trying to be a bit more aggressive while playing in the ODI format.
‘I am trying to brush up my skills in the one-day format and focus on improving the strike rate’ said Mominul.
‘I am trying to bat this way. When I was in Australia, coach told me that you play well in Test cricket… you will need a bit more time in one day cricket,’ he said.
‘I don’t think the problem is taking place due to any mental issues. People go through bad phases, maybe this is one of those phases for me,’ he added.
Source: New Age