The Tigers from a different perspective

The Pavilion Hotel resort, now the temporary home of the Bangladesh cricket team, is unique in every sense. It's not owned by a private company but is a property of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), the proud owners of the picturesque venue too.

It took this reporter nearly half an hour and a six-kilometer taxi drive up the hill to reach that beautiful structure on the foot of a hill surrounded by cedar trees and a magnificent view of the Dharamsala valley beneath. The most significant facets of the hotel, which is divided into four blocks, are named after four magnificent venues -- Lord's, Wanderers, SCG and Eden Gardens. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza lives in the Wanderers and Tamim Iqbal resides at the Eden Gardens. A beautiful cafeteria, backed up by a lush lawn and a small but tidy swimming pool by the edge, is every tourist's envy.

Since it was an optional practice day yesterday, most of the senior players except Mushfiqur Rahim -- no prizes if you guessed that -- and two bowlers, Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny,  stayed back at the hotel to have fun.

However, Tamim's logic as a practice absentee was absolutely spot on when he said the practice wickets at Dharamsala were completely deceiving and hardly match the nature of the wickets inside the venue. Mashrafe was playing the role of a professional cameraperson for family back home. He was actually sharing the hotel and its surroundings with his family members through his smart phone. Tamim was first to start his lunch, Shakib joined soon after. Sunny took his lunch silently and left in the same fashion. On strode Mashrafe and it took on a festive look. It was real fun out there and for someone who wonders how they actually behave, just reflect on how you are having fun with your friends.

There were so many things going on that were very tempting for any reporter looking for news. It was actually getting very late for us to rush to the venue and catch the pre-match briefing. So we had to quit that pure 'adda' for professional commitments with an understanding that there are many things we need to keep close to our chest.