The Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup is just two days away from its kick-off and keeping that in mind, the Bangladesh Premier League sides are putting the final touches to their preparation.
Ahead of the international tournament, four-time professional league champions Abahani Limited, traditional crowd-pullers Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited and Chittagong Abahani have decided to bolster their squad with the inclusion of several players from Sheikh Russel, albeit on loan.
The 10-day tournament will get underway with the inaugural match between Dhaka Abahani and Pakistan's Karachi Electric FC while Chittagong Abahani face Kolkata's Kingfisher East Bengal on the same day with both games taking place at MA Aziz Stadium.
Here we take a glance at the preparation of the three participating clubs from Bangladesh as they bid to seal the title at their own backyard.
Chittagong Abahani
Experienced coach Shafiqul Islam Manik might have claimed that they did not get enough training sessions but they are perhaps the best-positioned among the three clubs as they have recruited several players on loan from Sheikh Russel KC.
“The preparation has simply not been good enough. Everything depends on a few experienced players. If they are motivated, utilise home support and give their best only then can we dare to hope. I think we are in the group of death so our initial target will be to reach the semi-finals,” Manik told the media yesterday.
The port city outfit have roped in some star national players in forwards Jahid Hasan Ameli and Zahid Hossain, midfielders Hemanta Vincent Biswas and Mithun Chowdhury, goalkeeper Russel Mahmud Liton and defender Reza from Sheikh Russel.
They have also brought in foreign recruits like Baybeck, Kingsley Chigozie and Yoko Samnick.
Dhaka Abahani
Manager Satyajit Das Rupu hoped that the Sky Blues would be able to fight for the championship title.
In their bid to claim the title, the former top-flight champions received a boost when star Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba and Ghanaian Samad Yusuf decided to join them.
Abahani have also bolstered their squad by purchasing Chester Akon from Brothers Union and Samson Illiasu from Team BJMC.
As far as the local loanees are concerned, Sheikh Russel duo Topu Barman and Waly Faisal have also joined Abahani to strengthen the defence.
“We have started our preparation before the Eid-ul-Adha vacation and tried to balance the fitness level of the players. As you can see, our group is very strong. We are preparing ourselves to fight for the championship,” said Rupu.
Mohammedan
The traditional Black and Whites have only had nine training sessions as part of their preparation for the tournament. Their miseries deepened when they found out that they will be missing the services of their Guinean striker Ismael Bangoura. A couple of others also incurred different injuries.
Mohammedan however, did recruit young BJMC striker Nabib Newaz Jibon, who was earlier called up to the national squad for the recently-concluded 2018 Fifa World Cup second round qualifier away to Kyrgyzstan.
Brothers winger Faisal Mahmud has also joined Joshimuddin Joshi's outfit.
“The target is to put up a positive performance but the reality is tough. We had only nine sessions whereas we required at least four weeks to prepare ourselves. Many players are unfit as well,” said Mohammedan trainer Joshi following their training session yesterday.