Under the supervision of Austra-lian coach Dav Whatmore Bangla-desh cricketers are also trying to get accustomed to the pressure of busy international schedule and the Tigers could enjoy only a three-day break between a month-long West Indies tour and preparations for next month's Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

The opening day's training at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protish-than (BKSP) was specially a tough one for the players who came from outside Dhaka like vice-captain Rajin Saleh, Tapash Baisya and Mushfiqur Rahman.

All 14 members of the squad except left-arm spinner Moha-mmad Rafique, who arrived later because of confusion about the timing, joined the camp in the morning and nobody was in a vacation mood once they started training.

No one had any complaints about their returning to business so quickly and even all-rounder Mushfiqur Rahman, who got married barely a week before the Caribbean tour started, responded with a big smile.

This kind of attitude impressed their 50-year old Australian coach Whatmore and boosted his confidence ahead of the Lankan trip.

"We are improving in many ways and the team is now in very good shape. That's why our opponents shouldn't take us lightly," said the delighted coach.

The Bangladesh coach has set his target to move into the second round in the regional competition which will be confirmed if they win the tournament opener against lowly Hong Kong, one of the two associate members participating in the six-team meet. Bangladesh will play their second group match against reigning champions Pakistan.

"Although my first objective is to move into the second phase, I am still not thinking anything about result. My main concentration is rather on to improve in different areas like running between the wickets, fielding and catching. I am not going to be distracted from my initial target when I took over the team," he said.

Whatmore was not much worried about the bitter fact that his boys had dropped as many as ten easy catches in the Caribbean.

"The boys were guilty of dropping catches, but it was also true that they were brilliant in ground fielding. It can happen sometimes even for players of the big teams," he said in defence of the Tigers.

When asked about Mushfiq's performance as an all-rounder, he said he is a very worthy member of the Bangladesh one-day squad and has the ability to serve the team in time of need.

"He did not have a good tour in the West Indies, but I am confident he will come back soon."

He expects a better show from his boys in the Asia Cup because they are going to take intense preparation for the tournament.

"We will get enough time to be familiar with the Sri Lankan conditions because we will fly fifteen days before the tournament kicks off. We will also play three practice matches."

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan batting coach Owen Mattou is again expected to join the team after the Tigers arrive in the island nation. And Whatmore believed that the assistance of Mattou would be fruitful once again. Many believe it is because of Mattou that the Bangla-desh batting was showing signs of improvement, especially the tail-end.