Pakistani cricketer Salman Butt with his child at a city salon. Picture by Pabitra Das

All play and no workout was the team routine for the Kolkata Knight Riders on the eve of their big-ticket clash with the Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

With field training being waived, many of the players hung around on the ground floor of ITC The Sonar Calcutta until well past noon. It was family time for the Pakistani contingent, strengthened by the arrival of Umar Gul and Salman Butt.

If Mohammed Hafeez was seen carrying son Roshaan around, Gul was busy making friends with Butt's baby. Others, including Brendon McCullum, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik, opted for brunch at the Eden Pavilion. Captain Sourav Ganguly was among the first to come out of his room and he “stayed back with the boys till 2pm”.

The Pakistani trio had a good-hair day. They visited a Wood Street salon, where waiting for them was Briton Guy Kremer, hairstylist to the likes of supermodel-turned French First Lady Carla Bruni, Fergie (the Duchess of York), Jerry Hall, Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters and Indian musician Bally Sagoo.

While Gul got a “bias cut”, Salman Butt’s mane was snipped.

The Bengal cricketers in the team opted for some mall therapy. “The four of us — (Ashoke) Dinda-da, Papali-da (Wriddhiman Saha) and Raja-da (Debabrata Das) — went out to shop at 22 Camac Street,” said Rohan Banerjee, the 20-year-old batsman from Durgapur.

Sourav was not the only one to head home late in the afternoon. Bengal spinner Saurasish Lahiri, too, used the break from training to visit his family. “I have come back home only for a while,” the Howrah lad said.

All the players were to be back at the hotel by evening.

On whether taking it easy before a crucial match, especially following a loss, was the right thing to do, an official of the Kolkata Knight Riders said the players needed the break. “It was not really a day off. They went for a swimming and gym session in the morning. The players were tired after travelling and needed rest.”