The BPL ended on February 7, and the following day, some of the players turned up at a training camp at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. These were mainly cricketers whose BPL teams had been knocked out before the final. The team will train in Dhaka till February 12, after which they leave for the Champions Trophy - their first match is against India in Dubai on February 20.

"I agree that it is not the best preparation, but they were playing white-ball cricket, which means that they are sharp skills-wise," Simmons said. "We have to get their minds up to 50-over cricket in the next six or seven days. They have the skills. They are performing. It is about getting to that 50-over mentality now. We will have double practice sessions in the next couple of days. We bat and bowl in the morning, and then do the same under the lights.

"We are getting ourselves prepared to bat for 50 overs. The first part of the preparation is about Dubai. Once we can get ourselves in the right frame of mind, and work on the right things for Dubai, I think we can start [preparations for] the rest the competition as well. We will get familiar conditions in Pakistan after that."

"He was working very hard all of those days when he wasn't playing," Simmons said. "We are going to need a strong mental attitude from everyone in the team. I think he possesses that, so I look forward to him continuing his work."

"He has looked slower than normal in the last couple of games. The run-up was less than normal approaching the wicket," Simmons said. "They [Rangpur Riders] got knocked out early so he had a bit of rest. He looked sharp in training yesterday. The pace was coming back. The run-up was as quick as it was in the Caribbean."

This is Simmons' last assignment in his current contract, and there are questions about the future. But Simmons wasn't giving any clues.

"I won't be here if I didn't believe [that we can win]," he said. "I think you prepare as best as you could when you go into a tournament. On that day, you play your best games. That's what I look to do, on every occasion. I think we have made a lot of strides in the Caribbean. I think we have a good chance once we play to the best of our ability."