It could have easily been the same story this time also, but thanks to a team-management member's cool head no such thing like what took place on the last tour to the island in 2005 transpired.

It was learnt that the veteran bowler came down heavily on the member in the dressing room when he questioned his (Rafique) 'selfishness' during the third Test match. The member however left the place quickly to avoid any unpleasant episode.

Rafique, who was below par in the Test series, was complaining of side strain during the match, but in the end it became a mystery because the doctors found nothing there.

"No doubt he is generally a nice guy, but sometimes he crosses the line. At the moment there is nobody in the country who can replace him otherwise it would have been tough for him to keep his place in the team," said an aggrieved member on condition of anonymity.

Perhaps that is the reason why no team member tried to convince him to stay back for the one-day series.

Rafique will land at the Zia International Airport on a Qatar Airways flight at 5:45 pm today. On the same flight also arrive former Bangladesh captains Habibul Bashar and Khaled Mashud and Rajin Saleh and Mohammad Sharif. The latter four are returning as they failed to find their places for the one-day series.

However, it was a different story for Bashar. The 34-year-old ex-skipper had to leave the team silently midway through a series for the first time in his career because his bat didn't speak for him.

"It is the most painful day in my career because for the first time I have to leave the team midway through the series. True that I left the team during a series previously, but that was because of injury. This time I was not considered for the one-day team," said a frustrated Bashar on Sunday.

"I know it's a harsh reality for a cricketer. It might have been a different story had I scored some runs in the Test series," he added.