His absence was very much noticeable at the briefing which was attended by State Minister for Youth and Sports Fazlur Rahman and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Ali Asghar.

When attention was drawn, the BCB boss smilingly informed that the former Bangladesh captain had shown his interest to attend, but they refrained him following his recent non-cooperation with the local media.

Asghar however agreed that the tournament office failed to generate enough enthusiasm among fans although this would be the biggest cricket showpiece in the country after the 1998 Knockout World Cup.

"From now the BCB will look after it because we are in touch with the ICC directly. Earlier, we had to work cautiously because of a compensation clause in the agreement with the ICC," he informed.