While the Bangladesh players had counted on 'home' support in Kolkata for their eventual 87-run defeat against the Netherlands, the Tigers may not have much luck on that front when they face Pakistan in their seventh match of the World Cup at the Eden Gardens today.

The relationship between India and Pakistan on diplomatic and political fronts may have remained hostile over the years, but Pakistan cricket team enjoys massive popularity in Kolkata. And despite fans from Pakistan not being able to travel to India in great numbers for this World Cup over visa issues, there will likely be no shortage of support for the former world champion today.

There was enough evidence of that during the Pakistan team's training session yesterday, with hundreds of locals cheering on the Men in Green outside the stadium premises. Few even managed to sneak into the stands and take selfies with stars such as Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

There was an incident outside the stadium where two die-hard fans of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam engaged in a fight over who is the best batter. Interestingly both of them are Indian nationals.

Even during the 2016 T20 World Cup game between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Kolkata, the local support for the Pakistan team outnumbered that for the Tigers.

It takes around 45 minutes to reach Kolkata from Dhaka by air and almost all the aviation companies have seen a surge in ticket sales on this route as hundreds of Bangladeshis made it to the capital of West Bengal to witness the Tigers in action.

But the humiliating defeat to the Netherlands has seemingly dampened the eagerness of the Bangladesh fans as hardly any enthusiasm was witnessed among the Bangladeshi fans ahead of the Pakistan game.

While Bangladesh will have to improve their game a few notches to overcome Pakistan on the pitch to add some respectability to their campaign, they will also have to win against the Pakistan fans.