COLOMBO, July 15: ``The world is watching.'' That's the catchline the dream merchants have conjured up for the Pepsi Asia Cup. And those four words may as well be applicable for Bangladesh on whom the pressure will be while playing their first match - against Pakistan at the Premadasa Stadium here tomorrow after winning One-Day International (ODI) status recently.Bangladesh has impressed quite a few knowledgables. And one of them is the Pakistani skipper, Rameez Raja. ``I thought it would be an easy game tomorrow. But such notions were quickly dispelled when I saw them practice today. They looked fit, sharp and highly motivated under the coaching of Gordon Greenidge,'' Raja said in a chat with The Indian Express.Motivated, they certainly are. As Tanveer Haider, the Bangladesh tour manager, told this paper: ``The ICC (International Cricket Council) Trophy was a different league of cricket and playing against three of the top teams in the world will be a different ball game. I know all eyes would be on us and that has fired up our boys.''Haider, an executive member of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) who played for his country before and after the Liberation as a top-order batsman and new ball bowler, is quite pragmatic: ``The result of the Asia Cup is not as important to us as the manner in which we play our matches. How we measure up to our newfound ODI status is what's uppermost on our minds,'' he opined.Gazi Ashraf, the tour manager when Bangladesh won the ICC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur to qualify for the 1999 World Cup in England, believes Greenidge has worked wonders with the team. ``He made the boys appreciate the nuances of the game and what it is all about at the international level.''Ashraf's eyes light up while recalling the post-ICC Trophy triumph celebrations back home. ``People were out on the roads singing, dancing and spraying colours.Our Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) was at the packed airport to receive the team on arrival and then announced a reward of 500,000 takas for each member of the team. I have never seen so many people since the Liberation as I saw at the civic reception that was given to us. We were taken in a motorcade around Dhaka and awards came to us in an avalanche.''Ashraf does not think the ODI status has been conferred on Bangladesh too soon. ``You see, we have quality players. But what we lack is international matchplay experience. You can't become a good, competitive international team if you get to play just two or three internationals every two years. And that's what we get while playing the biannual Asia Cup.''Bangladesh has played just 12 ODIs in 11 years. Minhajul Abedin Nanu has played all 12 while vice-captain Aminul Islam and skipper Mohammad Akram Khan are the two other experienced players with ten and nine international appearances respectively in a side whose average age is 26.Bangladesh, who were earlier coached by Mohinder Amarnath, have been able to attract top players from India and Sri Lanka to enrich the quality of their domestic cricket. Among the past and present players who have played or are playing in Bangladesh are Sanat Jayasuriya, Arjuna Ranatunga, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Raman Lamba, Chetan Sharma, Arun Lal, Ashok Malhotra and Sanjeev Sharma.Pakistan are not upbeat at the moment. No team can be, after losing a winning match as they did against Lanka yesterday. Pakistan's self-inflicted problems may just be what Bangladesh require to put up a spirited show tomorrow.Zaheer Abbas, the Pakistani team manager, reflected the team's feelings when he told The Indian Express: ``I cannot say we are under pressure, but we certainly cannot afford to relax after our loss yesterday.''The news from the Pakistani camp is that Saeed Anwar is a bit unwell. In case he is not fit on the morrow, teenager Hassan Raza will take his place in the eleven.TEAMSPAKISTAN (from): Rameez Raja (captain), Aamir Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Aaqib Javed, Shahid Nazir, Kabir Khan, Hasan Raza, Arshad Khan, Md HussainBANGLADESH (from): Mohammed Akram Khan (captain), Aminul Islam, Enamul Haq Moni, Minhajil Abedin Nanu, Athar Ali Khan, Saiful Islam Khan, Naimur Rehman, Khalid Mashid, Hasibul Hussain, Habibul Bashar, Sheikh Salahuddin, Zakir Hussain, Mazifur Rehman and Md Shariar HussainUmpires: BC Cooray & SK Bansal
