Former India batsman and selection committee chairman Chandu Borde says the key to India's success on the forthcoming tour of Pakistan lies in the fitness of its main bowlers.
Borde said the wickets in Pakistan will be similar to those at home, but with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, leggie Anil Kumble and left-arm seamers Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra nursing injuries there is bound to be concern in the Indian camp before the important tour, coming up after a gap of 14 years.
But he said India can look up to its new crop of fast bowlers who proved their potential Down Under.
"The most heartening aspect of the Australian tour was the emergence of two new seamers in Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji, who shouldered the responsibility after their seniors -- Zaheer, Nehra and Ajit Agarkar were sidelined with injuries," Borde said.
On the chances of the two teams in the goodwill tour, Borde said ultimately the game will be the winner.
"I really don't like to predict the outcome of the tour, but I can tell one thing for sure that the biggest winner would be the game itself as millions of people all over the world are eagerly looking forward to his tour," said Borde, the only Indian to have toured Pakistan as a player (1954-55) and manager (1989).
"The Indians are back from a morale-boosting tour of Australia, the top team in the world. It is also an open secret that the Indians have a very strong batting line-up which can be compared with the best in the business," said Borde, who played in 55 Tests and scored 3061 runs for an average of 35.59.
"On the other hand, Pakistan's batting is not so formidable as most of them are new, but their bowling looks very impressive though short on experience. I do not think the current crop of bowlers can be compared with the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis or Aquib Javed," he said.
"The wickets, which will be slow and with low bounce, will play an important role as well and the Indians, particularly Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman, who were in great form in Australia, will be very difficult to dislodge.
On India's preparations, Borde felt the need for a short duration camp.
"A short camp, maybe one-week, would be very helpful as the players can get used to the low bounce and slowness of the wickets.
"I know the players are exhausted after the Australian tour but it is better to be prepared for the eventualities before a very important tour," he said.
Talking about the Pakistan crowds, he said, "The crowds over there are partisan. We find
that kind of crowd even in India and once the tour kicks off and the Indians start doing well, I think things will settle down.
"With both the teams having some top cricketers in the world, everybody will be keen to see them in action as Pakistani fans have not seen any of the Indians [except Sachin
Tendulkar] in action and the same can be said about Indian fans as well."
He said the youngsters in the two camps are hoping to show their skills in the coming series.
"Everybody knows that the Indo-Pak series brings the best out of their respective players and the atmosphere will be really charged up. The players who do well become national heroes, so there is lot at stake for players and for fans.
"It [the series] is bound to be closely fought as the teams have some very talented youngsters who will be eager to show-case their talent," he said.
"The youngsters in the Pakistan team will be more enthusiastic to prove themselves and cement their place in the team while our youngsters would be looking forward to grab opportunity with both hands as and when it comes their way," he added.
"When I toured Pakistan as a player, under the captaincy of Vinoo Mankad, and then as manager of the Krishnamachari Srikkanth-led team, the series were drawn. I hope the current team will come back victorious."
