An AFP file photo shows Bangladesh midfielder Zahid Hossain (L), who had an impressive tournament, vying for the ball with Kyrgyzstan's Namatov Bakytbek during their Nehru Cup match in New Delhi last Friday.

Only the high-ups of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) would be able to tell how much impact its extravagant experiment of sending two different 'national' teams to India and Malaysia this month will have in the near future.
With the SAFF Championship due this December, the footballers will get just four months to prepare in a bid to regain the regional trophy they gave up to India in December 2005.
The two national teams had similar results in the two separate events, the senior side losing three of their four matches in the Nehru Cup in New Delhi under Indian coach Syed Nayeemuddin and Hasanuzzaman Babloo's second-string team going down in all three group matches in the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Lack of preparation, however, was evident in Bangladesh's games in the Nehru Cup where they even failed to beat Cambodia, whose last-gasp equaliser forced a 1-1 draw -- the only point Bangladesh earned in the five-team round robin league.
While hosts India began their preparation months ago and played five warm-up matches in Portugal, the Bangladeshi footballers did not even get the chance to know their teammates properly as they camped for less than two weeks after playing the inaugural professional league for six months.
The last time Bangladesh played in the SAFF Championship, under Argentine coach Diego Cruciani, they got four months to unite and reached the final. To be one of the final pairing again in Sri Lanka and Maldives, who host the eight-nation meet jointly, the BFF must start implementing its plans now.
And football's governing body must only not concentrate on the only plan it had shown in the past: Long-term camp and no preparation matches.
Playing together for over a month gave India a flying start in the Nehru Cup as they had made up their mind on the starting line-up.
On the other hand, Bangladesh seemingly never picked the right team as Nayeemuddin had to experiment from the word go.
The young Ariful is an excellent stopper when he plays at the right side of a three-man central defence but choosing him as the rigthback of a flat-four backline was the mistake that was repeated by the veteran Indian coach in every match.
Bangladesh's first half performance against Syria in their opener was perhaps the best 45 minutes the team ever had in New Delhi. However, Ariful's limitations were exposed as he failed to cover the gap after overlapping, costing both the goals against Syria and Baichung Bhutia's lone strike against India.
Bangladesh should have won against Cambodia but they failed to build on a first-half lead and conceded a late equaliser.
In the final game, the pressure of playing four matches inside seven days told as the tired legs failed to cope with Kyrgyzstan winger Vadim Herchenko's numerous crosses from either flank to go down 3-0.
The coach should have used fresh legs, at least in the final match, to test the strength of the newcomers he had picked but the headstrong Nayeem stuck to his own ideas.
Needless to say, the two reserve keepers never got the chance with Biplab in tremendous form, but it was surprising to see Ujjal and Zahed Parvez being used for brief periods as substitutes.
Debutant fullback Mishu got only one half, another newcomer Rajib -- a defender -- got a couple of minutes in the midfield, midfielder Liton never left the bench like defender Saikat and virtually, there was no replacement for holding midfielder Arman Aziz, who had to continue despite exhaustion.
Among the rookies, Zahid Hossain was really impressive with his speedy runs at the right flank and his ability to release stunning shots from distance makes sure he is the horse for a long race. Alfaz started at the bench in the first two matches but his expertise was needed as the veteran, who had announced his retirement, was picked in the starting line-up latter.
However, as a team, Bangladesh hardly impressed when they attacked. Most of the time, the two frontliners were not joined by the men from behind and were easily outnumbered by opposition backline.
"You can't expect better than this in ten days' preparation. Also, the fixture was very tiring for us as we hardly got any rest after one match," said Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh's Nehru Cup captain who was outstanding in central defence, yesterday.
"Due to the lack of preparation, we never had the combination and coordination. It's necessary to play warm-up matches to enhance stamina and tactics," said Nazrul, who returned home on Saturday with the team.
"If we use the next four months properly, we will be able to beat India who picked their best team. We did not play that bad against them but their preparation made the difference. Not only camp, we need to play at least two international friendlies each month against better teams if we are to get a result in the SAFF Championship.
"This tournament was a test for the young players and I believe we would be able to pick the best team for SAFF when our colleagues return from Malaysia.
"Our next duty would be the World Cup qualifiers against Tajikistan in October and we must play a few games before those matches," added Nazrul, who believed that playing beside Argentine defender Mariano Caporale at Abahani this season helped him improve.
"He is the best defender I have ever played with and his covering, control, anticipation and the final tackles showed me how to correct my shortcomings. I also admire his fitness and the fighting spirit."
The other team led by Hassan Al Mamun are expected to be back home today or tomorrow after losing 1-0 Indonesia and 2-1 to both Singapore and Zimbabwe Select in the Merdeka Cup.
Nayeemuddin will return after enjoying a one-week vacation to lead the players to camp again.