India captain Sourav Ganguly today said a tour of Pakistan has always been special for India and if the team continues to play the way it did in the Test series in Australia there is no reason why it should not do well across the border.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Ganguly said too much importance is being given to 'reverse swing'. "The present bowlers," he said, "get the ball to only move one way while reverse swinging, which should not bother us. Wasim Akram used the reverse swing both ways and hence was a difficult customer."
Asked about the tour conditions, he said wickets in Pakistan are similar to those in India. "We toured Pakistan six years ago to play an one-day series. But six years is a long time. We are looking forward to the tour and should do well."
Answering a question on the fatigue factor after a long tour of Australia, he said, "We have had a break of one month. This is long enough to recover."
The skipper hoped fast bowler Zaheer Khan would be fit for the Limited Overs Internationals as well as the Tests. "We need to have backup support in the pace attack, but if Zaheer is fit that should take care of it," he said.
Asked if Yuvraj Singh was being looked at as a possible opener, Ganguly said, "Virendra Sehwag and Akash Chopra are doing well as opening batsmen in the Test series and there is no reason why they should be disturbed."
Discussing off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's finger injury, he said leg-spinner Anil Kumble and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik should be able to soften the blow of his absence.
Ganguly said he was aware of the "huge expectations" that Indian fans have of the team and the onus would be on the batsmen to put up runs on the board.
The captain also said he was keen to take a bowling coach along on the tour.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that while all tours are essentially alike, a tour of Pakistan has a special flavour. "You have got to be more diplomatic on the tour," he advised.
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