Sri Lanka’s tour of India commencing in November will naturally be of huge interest and in last week’s column we tried to dwell on the possible remedial action one needs to take in order to ensure winning ways.

Whilst we do know that the players need to understand the skipper’s mind and respond to it, a topic of equal importance is the selection of the team. Whilst we do know that the selectors despite all what they do and after giving their best shot could never satisfy everybody and generally speaking they are always wrong! So it will be from that backdrop that Ashantha De Mel and Co will select a team that will embark on possibly one of the toughest tours a modern International Cricket Team would undertake.

Looking at it from an Indian perspective, it is quite obvious that the Indians are smarting after their recent defeats in the T 20 and Champions Trophy. Hence they will be keen to put their best foot forward. The fact that both Sehwag and Yuvraj - two key components in the Indian line up are fit - will be a daunting challenge to the bowlers not just in Sri Lanka but in the Australian camp as well as the 7 match ODI series between Australia and India will commence before Sri Lanka sets foot on Indian soil and in a way it would be a good indication for the Lankans on what to expect.

Will Murali be able to handle the SG as effectively as the Indians?

Dwelling further on Indian strengths which would have been already analyzed by the Sri Lankan management, it will naturally be the area of batting. With the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Tendulkar, Dravid, Yuvraj and Dhoni figuring in the line up it will be a definite challenge to any bowler. Another important factor that I am sure teams are mindful is the prevailing conditions in India as lateral movement doesn’t exist as much and hence the Sri Lankan pace attack will have to comprise of bowlers capable of moving it both in the air and off the seam which will naturally put the Indian batting off their rhythm. It will also compel the batsmen to alter their game and approach to combat the movement. Whilst fast bowlers of the caliber of Bret Lee of Australia and Steve Harmison of England haven’t succeeded on sub continental tracks, it is no secret that Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Sri Lanka’s own Chaminda Vaas were great success stories in similar bowling conditions. And the simple explanation for either point is the fact that the three south paws swung and seamed ball more whilst Lee and Harmison were bowlers who hit the deck hard. Hence the importance of having bowlers with the said ingredients will be imperative and also to be able to snatch a wicket or two with the new ball by bowling the lines expected will be another key factor.The Indian bowling on the other hand will be a force with the left arm quicks Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh and Ashish Nehra forming a strong combination. With Harbhajan Singh with his off spin being the first choice spinner and Amit Mishra in support, the bowling attack will be a challenge particularly in view of the SG ball which will be used in India. The SG ball is known to be harder and bouncier and the Indian spinners in the past have thrived on the extra bounce they derive off it. Let’s also not forget that the SG tends to reverse swing much earlier than most other balls do.

The Sri Lankan spinners too will have to use the SG ball to their advantage and the fact that Muralitharan to a great extent and Herath to lesser extent turn the ball will become a huge advantage with Ajantha Mendes’s mystery which he hopefully will rediscover.

Suraj Randiv the off spinner with his great height could also be a useful performer whilst the experienced Bandara despite not being a great spinner of the leg break provides enough variety with his topspin, googlies and even the flippers on Indian tracks where pace and bounce with the SG ball could be factors.
It will be on such a backdrop that Sri Lanka will commence its tour of India looking to advance their status and standing in the Cricketing world. A series of three test matches and five ODI’s will never be the most looked forward to tour and considering the long travel and the time consumed, the players will have to endure a grueling tour both on and off the field.

Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator