While both India and Pakistan will renew their rivalry in the emerald island after their historic series in March-April, the hosts get little time to regroup after an energy-sapping series Down Under.

For Bangladesh the regional cricket carnival brings an opportunity to show that they are no pushovers anymore.

To acclimatise with the conditions, the Tigers landed in Colombo well before the tournament starts and their victories in both practice matches and coach Dav Whatmore's knowledge of Sri Lanka only boosted their confidence.

Captain Habibul Bashar while justifying the two-week conditioning camp said, "It's always nice to start a tournament on the back of two wins. We were fortunate to play those games after arriving in Colombo on July 1. We also had long training sessions to gear up for the event," Bashar told the official press conference at the crowded Crystal Room of Hotel Taj Samudra yesterday.

Whatmore, the Australian who grew up in Sri Lanka and coached them to 1996 World Cup triumph, however said that the Sri Lankan condition was nothing alien to the other participating nations like Pakistan and India.

"The boys of the Asian region have played lot of cricket in Sri Lanka and they have a very good idea of the nature of pitches and other things. So I am not the only coach to have that sort of advantage and I am not sure we can go that length," said Whatmore, who guided the Tigers into a competitive unit since taking over a year ago.

However, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly did not speak at the briefing. Ganguly did appear for the conference but hurried off due to a delayed start. Instead coach John Wright spoke.

Also missing was the Sri Lankan team, which is due to return early this morning from Australia.

"As I anticipate it, the tournament would be very competitive and tough. The challenge is to get going early. We respect all the oppositions here," said Wright, whose boys feature against United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Dambulla on the opening day.

Bangladesh will take on Hong Kong in the other group opener at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.

Bob Woolmer, on his first assignment as Pakistan coach, have had very little time to know his boys but happily announced that speedster Shoaib Akhtar was ready to roar.

"I am looking forward to good, competitive cricket for the next two weeks. And I would like to add that my team will show respect to all the teams," said the former South African coach.

When asked whether there was any sort of rift inside the Pakistan team, Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq came straight with his answer.

"There was nothing wrong. We are confident to defend the championship and we are here to do that. We have had 15 hard day's training before coming here," Inzamam said.

Meanwhile, CEO of ACC Syed Ashraful Haque informed that the tournament offers US dollars 1,80,000 as prize money, which is 1,40,000 up from the last edition held in Dhaka four years back.

The former Bangladesh Cricket Board general secretary informed that the second round matches will continue on reserve days instead of a replay.

Ashraful was happy at the resumption of the tournament after a long break.

"It's a shame that the tournament is being held after four years. We want every team to play in this tournament. But if teams like India and Pakistan do not take part, it is never commercially viable. It also does not speak well for the region," he said.