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Sachin Tendulkar may have been rested for India's one-day series against Bangladesh starting today, but he is making his presence felt through billboards on the streets here along with Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai.
Aishwarya, who also figures in newspapers, is giving the batting maestro a tough competition, going by the number of billboards.
While Tendulkar, who will join the team for the two-match Test series that follows the three ODIs, is seen promoting a soft drink, Aishwarya is endorsing a soap.
Bangladeshis tease Indians
The locals here are enjoying teasing Indians after Bangladesh's unexpected win over India in the World Cup. They might not be too expressive about their feelings, but it is obvious that they are having a hearty laugh by teasing the Indians, especially the journalists here to cover the series.
"Did you go to the West Indies for the World Cup?" asked an immigration official to an Indian journalist at the Zia International Airport.
When told "no", he said in a rather taunting way: "Why not? You should have gone." He was clearly trying to make fun of India's unexpected first-round exit from the World Cup, and was happy that Bangladesh entered the second round.
There may be political mayhem in Bangladesh, but on the streets there is near discipline.
At some places in the city, rickshaws and cyclists — and there are thousands and thousands of them — move in a disciplined way, one behind the other.
The lane reserved for the rickshaws is narrow enough to disallow any overtaking. The lane for cyclists is narrower still.
The rest of the traffic, however, is not so disciplined. Motorists, including cabbies, try to overtake others at any given opportunity, caring little for the rules or the policemen on duty.
International venue shifted
The international venue in Dhaka has shifted from the Bangabandhu National Stadium to Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur area, a suburb of the city.
The new stadium has hosted only three one-day Internationals, and the fourth one will be played against India here today. But this venue is much better than the previous one, which was essentially a football stadium.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board's National Cricket Academy has also shifted to Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, indicating that Dhaka finally has a permanent cricket stadium.
Besides the modern dressing rooms for the teams, the stadium also has floodlights and an air-conditioned media box that gives a vantage position to the journalists covering matches
Khaleej Times
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