After their thumping defeat at the hands of India late last month, the Tigers gathered to prepare for their upcoming tour to Sri Lanka.

Newly-appointed captain of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful, opener Tamim Iqbal and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak all missed the first day of practice as they only arrived on Wednesday evening from Bangalore where they played for Asia XI in the Afro-Asia Cup Twenty20 International. But they took part in a gym session later yesterday evening with the rest of the team.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mohammad Rafique are still in India as they are playing for the ODI team of the Afro-Asia Cup. On the other hand, left-handed all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was absent as he was attending his brother's wedding ceremony.

But the morning session was all about fitness as the Tigers were restricted to the indoors due to wet conditions in the ground. Later in the afternoon, the Tigers took part in fielding drills and a speed endurance session.

The five-hour long session also introduced all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad to his new teammates, as it was his first time with the national setup.

Assistant coach Sarwar Imran, who was in charge of practice, told the reporters: "We'll try to play our best and if that is possible, we will be able to draw the Test series. We are not thinking about our last match but looking forward to the upcoming series with a positive attitude."

The former fast bowler said that batting is their main concern and that they would like to work hard on it before flying for Sri Lanka.He expressed his satisfaction at becoming the assistant coach of Bangladesh team. "All coaches have a desire to establish themselves as the national team coach. I think, I've been given this job as BCB has enough faith on me," he said. "As far as I am concerned, this is not a demotion."

Bangladesh will play the first Test from June 25 at the Premadasa Stadium.

Tigers will return to practice tomorrow after a day's break.