The more they try to keep away from the aam janata, they are sure to be hounded only that much more.

 Six players – Captain Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, David Hussey and Tim Paine – who went for a brief training session at the stadium returned to the hotel to relax and do their own thing on Tuesday.

Metrolife decided to probe on what they planned to do till they returned to the practice session Wednesday.

Brett Lee was the first to be spotted at the coffee shop of the ITC Royal Gardenia.

 He’d just finished eating a plateful of chicken pasta, layered with cream and cheese and was beginning to sip his hot cup of coffee when Metrolife approached him.

And boy, Brett just appeared to be waiting for it. “Tum Kaisi Ho,” he shot the first query. “Hame Hindi pata hai” he beamed. “Coffee achcha hai,” he added. And he was more than willing to pose for pictures while speaking. Asked how he killed time in the City, “Oh I am enjoying every bit of my stay here in the City,” he said. “I am moving around a bit and I am also making sure that I try out some Indian food complete with all the spice.” And straightaway Brett rushed out and jumped into a cab for an exploration of namma Bengaluru.

Cameron White and Brad Haddin, the other two players, were accompanied by their security guard, a cop in plain clothes and a pretty young lady, as they headed out to the UB City.

Clad in shorts, tees and a cap, they chose to walk it and surprisingly weren’t hounded by people on the street.

Looked like the caps did well in hiding their faces. But once they got in the mall, they had a bunch of girls and boys following them wherever they went. They weren’t mobbed but the group made sure they got plenty of pictures clicked with the players.

The players first headed to a store to scan through a few watches.

They asked for a few of the watches to be kept aside. Later, they walked inside another store and came out in the same speed. They each had a packet in hand when they came out of the Diesel Store. They spent less than two hours at the UB City.

It’s at the bar at the hotel that the players spend more of their time. They relax over a drink or two.

 “They order more of beer and less of the hard liquor. Some of the players bring in their friends, most of them women. But they’re careful about their body language and make sure they’re at their best behaviour, even if they’re a wee bit high,” said the source at the hotel.