As organisers and host venues continue to bicker over profit-sharing matters, the focus shifts to on-field action as cricket's second most coveted title -- the Champions Trophy -- begins in Mohali on Saturday, with Australia starting as favourites.
The Australians have never won this tournament, billed as a 'mini World Cup' and it remains to be
seen whether the three-time world champions can break the jinx this time around.
The high-profile event, to be staged at four venues in the country, begins with a day-night qualifying match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the PCA stadium on Saturday, but the tournament will generate more excitement when the group stage matches begin on October 15.
As per the format introduced for the first time, four teams -- Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe who were placed at the bottom of the ICC one-day rankings, will play in the qualifying matches.
The two top teams in the qualifiers then move into the tournament proper.
Although the event has generated much media hype, several unresolved oganisational issues between the organizers, the International Cricket Council and Board of Control for Cricket in India as also the staging associations has infused an element of uncertainty and confusion.
The Punjab Cricket Association and Rajasthan Cricket Association have not yet signed the host venue agreement although it should have been done before the tournament started.
The PCA has even warned that it could consider pulling-out if the ICC did not accept their conditions related to ticket money.
Clearly, many of the organisational and contractual matters have been allowed to linger for much too long which have only served as a distraction.
For the moment, the PCA is geared up to host the inaugural game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which understandably has evoked a lukewarm response from fans in Mohali.
The Lankans should not find the going tough against the minnows, who, barring a couple of upset wins against fancied teams, have not really set the cricket field ablaze with their heroics.
But, then, the islanders can hardly take their opponents lightly and new captain Mahela Jayawardene reminded his players that no team could be regarded as pushovers in competitive cricket.
The Lankan top order, which includes veterans like Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakarra, did not fire in Thursday's warm-up match against Punjab XI which the visitors eventually won by a comfortable 84-run margin.
But captain Jayawardene is not unduly bothered by the failure of his top order batsmen, saying just one failure on a difficult track was not cause for concern.
"It's not about top order, the middle order or the lower order. It's about 11 guys doing their job and about team effort. We can win only if there is a collective effort," Jayawardene said.
"We are a bit rusty. It's been a month since we played our last match. The boys have set high standard for themselves in various departments and we would like to continue with it. There are some grey areas and we will address them," Jayawardene said.
The Lankans, who were thrashed 6-1 by India during their last tour, are in better form this time and the presence of a number of talented all-rounders in their ranks has given the squad a lot more balance.
"We have learnt from our mistakes. When we came here last time, we faced initial difficulties following new rules [Power Play and Super Sub] which gave so much importance to the toss, but I think we have improved since then."
Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody had a similar view.
"A lot of water has gone down the bridge since then. We are not the same team that visited India last time. We are now a better, stronger unit," Moody said.
"A lot of young guys have come and done well in international cricket. There is a significant improvement, especially in fielding," he said.
The islanders will be largely depending on their experienced batsmen to deliver the goods on tracks that are expected to be a nightmare for bowlers.
Jayasuriya can be devastating on such tracks and the 37-year-old swashbuckler is keen to make his presence felt.
The Bangladeshis, on the other hand, have nothing to lose, as the pressure will be on their opponents.
Coach Dav Whatmore, who has a good idea about the Lankan game, having being their coach for a long time, expressed confidence of a better showing from the Bangladesh team who have a couple of talented players.
"We have prepared well for the tournament and have done our home work on the rival teams. If the players can execute all the plans we have discussed; we should do well", Whatmore said.
"The problem is that we are not being able to execute the plans on the field. I hope we can do it this time around".
The teams:
Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Upul Tharanga, Tillaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedara, Ferveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ruchira Perera, Dilhara Fernando, Lasith Malinga, Malinga Bandara.
Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar (capt), Shahriar Nafees, Khaled Mashud, Mohammed Rafique, Mohammed Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rajin Saleh, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Farhad Reja, Saqibul Hasan, Mehrab Hossain.
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West indies) and Darryl Harper (Australia).
Third umpire: Simon Taufel (Australia).
Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa)
Hours of play (IST): 1430 to 1800 and 1845 to 2215.
