Habibul Bashar's men having won at least one match in the previous three one-day series against India, Zimbabwe and Australia, the possibility of similar success can not be ruled out despite the fact that the Lankans are a tough nut to crack in their own den.

"We are trying to make winning a habit so that people can't say we are making upsets. Our target is to reduce the gap between wins," said Tigers skipper Bashar at a press conference prior to their departure on Tuesday.

Bangladesh will play three ODIs and two Tests in the month long trip.

"Performing consistently is still our target. Not just winning one or two matches, we want to do it regularly. We have to improve individually as well as a team. We lost four one-dayers after winning one. We will try to win one or two here," Bashar hoped.

"We have won at least one match in the last three series. If we can't do it in Sri Lanka it will be considered as a setback. But if we can make them sweat, that would confirm we are in the right direction.

"The Lankans are definitely stronger than us in all three departments. Still, we can be a better fielding side," said the premier batsman of the country while assessing the strength of the two sides.

Asked about the new one-day rules to be adopted in the series, Bashar admitted that it would be an additional task for him.

"A captain always has to think but now I have to do the difficult task of thinking instantly. We will get the chance to apply those rules in the practice match. The new rules are made to make limited-overs cricket more exciting. It is as new to us as for the Lankans. Both teams are going to face similar problems, especially for field restrictions. Super-sub might be more helpful to us. Sometimes we are forced to play with four bowlers to strengthen the batting. We don't have to compromise with this any more."

Coach Dav Whatmore also admitted that the captain will have to cope with the situation.

"We have had a lot of discussions about the new one-day rules. We haven't had the opportunity to play but that's going to happen during the practice game. We have been theorising all sorts of permutations and combinations about replacement players and field restrictions but I think, it would be harder for the captain because he has to take decisions in the field," the 51-year-old Australian said.

Happy with the preparation during the monsoon, Whatmore said that it was as good as it could have been because of the new facilities available at Mirpur.

"When I first came here, we had to leave for Australia two weeks earlier for match practice and training due to inclement weather. But not this time.

Comparing Bangladesh's last tour in England and the coming trip to Sri Lanka, Whatmore said the conditions are different.

"The two teams are also different. What we have to do is to progress in the direction that we are, to realise more games and win more along the way. We had three very good wins recently, the December win against India, in June against Australia in Cardiff and the history making series victory against Zimbabwe at home," he said.

"I am not thinking about winning every game but one or two extra wins along the way will confirm that we are in the right direction. Yes, we are capable of beating Sri Lanka. But I also understand and respect the opposition in their home condition.

"Every time we pick a new player, we are strengthening the team. We do not play our game for any other reason but to win. And if we don't win our objective is to make sure the opposition plays really hard," said the ex-Sri Lanka coach adding that he would try to use his previous experience of the Lankan boys to help Bangladesh.

Team manage Abdul Latif Khan said that he had no security fears in spite of the recent political crisis in Sri Lanka.

"I'll make sure that the boys get maximum protection," Latif said.

SQUAD
Habibul Bashar (captain), Khaled Mashud (wicketkeeper), Moha-mmad Ashraful, Javed Omar, Rajin Saleh, Tushar Imran, Aftab Ahmed, Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Rafique, Khaled Mahmud, Man-zarul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Khan Abdur Razzak, Mashrafee-bin-Mortuza, Syed Russel.
Coach: Dav Whatmore, team manager: Col (retd) M A Latif, physio: Paul Close, computer analyst: Nasir Ahmed.