Mash's adda & Sabbir's cake

They say that there's no better feeling than coming back and being amidst your own. And it wasn't a surprise when most of Bangladesh's cricketers, who returned to the country after a gruelling two-month tour on Sunday, preferred spending time with their loved ones.

Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza might have received plenty of acclaim worldwide for his dedication and captaincy during the World Cup, but for the man himself nothing matched the roadside adda he enjoys most nearby his place. The Bangladesh team left the airport at around 9:30 pm on Sunday and Mashrafe was spotted at his favourite tea-spot an hour later. As the word spread, people started stretching their necks from the verandas and the terraces in a bid to get a glance of the local boy. Someone even took the trouble of running to the nearest available bakery and getting a cake for the captain. According to residents of the region, it was like a scene from a movie!

Also in a celebratory mode was the young dasher Sabbir Rahman who, upon arriving in Dhaka, wasted no time in the capital and made his way to his hometown Rajshahi. He spent the entire day indoors with his family and friends. While his mother cooked up his favourite dishes, his friends brought him a neat cake which had his name and the number 184 written on it; signifying the number of runs he scored in the World Cup.

"Since I am the only player from Rajshahi in the national team I have received a lot of love from here," a proud Sabbir said.

"Even when I arrived here there were lots of people who came to welcome me. For the next ten days I just want to stay away from cricket and spend as much time with my family and friends as possible," he added.

While Sabbir was busy relaxing with his family, the other youngster in the side, Soumya Sarker wasn't so lucky.

With Soumya's parents living in different districts of the country, due to work, they weren't able to spend as much quality time. His immediate relatives, who thronged on him upon his arrival, made up for their absence. Having played just one ODI prior to the World Cup, Soumya, whose name was vividly seen on the posters and the placards, held by the supporters outside the airport, admitted to be slightly taken aback by the huge support he received.

"I haven't changed at all, but yes I can see that more people know my name right now and know me, which is something new to me.  I stayed indoors yesterday with my relatives… we ate a lot of food and just spent some happy times," Soumya gleefully chirped.

Amongst the other players, Tamim Iqbal was seen spending some quality time with his friends at a restaurant in Banani while Nasir Hossain was busy packing his bags to go to his hometown, Rangpur, where his family are eagerly waiting for him.

Spinner Arafat Sunny spent most of his time in bed the last two days and almost nothing could move him! "There was so much travelling this time. We barely had time to stay in one place. So I have decided to just stay here. So that's what I did; ate, distributed gifts from Australia and just talked to my parents for a long time," a relaxed Sunny said.