Everybody was in a hurry to leave the Zia International Airport but it was only possible after they fulfilled the demands of the media men.

The cricketers, however, were kind enough to meet the press but it was not the case for outgoing coach Dav Whatmore, under whom Bangladesh have improved their record and enhanced the reputation in world cricket.

Annoyed by the over enthusiastic media, especially the overwhelming microphones that surrounded him, the Sri Lankan-born Australian coach gave answers in the shortest possible way.

"Very good, very good," was his reply when he was asked about his feelings of wins over New Zealand (warm-up game), India and South Africa.

"We didn't play well," was the answer to a question of what was the reason behind his team's failure against Ireland.

"Yeah, we played good cricket and reached the Super Eights. It's very good," he commented on the team's overall performance.

The smile was completely missing from the face of Whatmore who ended the briefing in an interesting way when he said 'batting, bowling and fielding' are the areas Bangladesh should improve'.

But it was refreshing to talk to the players including Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who already has earned the tag of braveheart.

"I become a changed man once I put my feet inside the ropes. This is the key behind my success. It was fantastic experience for me to bowl at 140k (against India) and I must thank Andy Roberts for making some changes in my run-up," said an excited Mashrafe, remembering the West Indian great fast bowler's tips.

"It was also a great experience to meet Glenn McGrath and Shane Bond. Actually we have earned lot of respect in the World Cup," said the Narail Express who shaped the five-wicket victory against India with a four-wicket brash and impressed throughout the tournament.

Mohammad Ashraful was the hero in the 67-run victory against South Africa in the second round and his improvising paddle-scoops are still fresh in memories of cricket fans.

"I only go for this shot once I am settled in the middle and then it appears as easy as a cover drive. You should improvise if you want to move the scoreboard. I am happy that at last, I found a batting position (number five). But I am disappointed with my performance in the last three games," said Ashraful, who showed his interest to lead the team.

When asked whether was interested about captaincy, he said, "Everybody has a dream to lead the national team. I am no different and captaincy is nothing new for me as I have led teams at domestic level.

"I am not surprised to be in the top ten list because I was determined to achieve something like this," said left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who scalped 13 wickets in the tournament.

"Brian Lara's wicket was the best one among my victims because I will never get another chance to get rid of the great batsman. The only frustration is we lost the game against Ireland," he added.

Shahriar Nafees showed more interest to the home series against India as he is looking forward to get back his rhythm. "I think it is not impossible for our team to win the one-day series against India. I went through a bad patch which I believe will be overcome in this series," said the left-hander, who was the most disappointing performer for the Tigers after spending an award-winning year.

Ace left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique explained the reasons behind the success of himself and the team by a simple sentence: "We were confident."

"I never felt pressure in the tournament," said young and dashing opener Tamim Iqbal, who is very keen to continue his natural stroke-play.

"I think I have fulfilled the goals partially. Besides batting and 'keeping, I tried hard to inspire the bowlers in the field," said young Mushfiqur Rahim.

But veteran opener Javed Omar came up with the most entertaining comment when he held his newborn son for the first time. "I hope he'd be a better stroke-maker than his father," said Javed, often criticised for slow batting.