Shoaib Akhtar is keen to carry forward the good work he did against England

Islamabad: Fresh from their impressive win against England, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq is now busy preparing a ‘different strategy’ for the upcoming series against arch-rivals India to make amends for last year’s home loss.

“They (India) have some very good players and they’ve a lot of experience in their team. So it’s not going to be easy for us despite our win over England,” said Inzamam, who led Pakistan to a creditable Test and one-day series win against England.

The veteran player warned his side against complacency, saying the Indians were better players of spin.

“If we continue to play the way we’ve done against England with everyone combining as a unit, I’m confident we can do well against India also. But we can’t afford to relax at all because the Indians are better players of spin,” he was quoted as saying by a daily on Friday.

Inzamam said he would like to see pitches with more pace and bounce against the Indians as Pakistan had the advantage of having an in-form pace attack and a confident leg-spinner in Danish Kaneria.

“Kaneria is one of our key bowlers like always. But this time (against England) our pace attack has done well and it has meant less pressure on Kaneria.

Pakistan team’s training camp for the forthcoming home series against India will begin from around January 7.

“That’s our plan because our coach Bob Woolmer has also gone for Christmas vacations and will return in the first week of January. But all the players have been given a daily training chart to ensure they remain ready for the India series,” Inzamam said.

Inzamam also indicated on bringing in a few new faces who were doing well in the domestic circuit.

“I want to have a look at some new players, to see how they are shaping. There is a three-day practice game against India and it’ll allow us to try out these players,” he stated.

Expressing satisfaction over the performance of Mohammed Asif and Yasir Hameed in the final one-dayer against England, the Pakistan captain said it was good the bench strength was growing and improving.

Meanwhile, speedster Shoaib Akhtar intends to make up for his missed opportunities against India by carrying forward the good work he began against England.

“We’ve won one series but our job is still unfinished; winning against India would be the icing on the cake,” Shoaib said.

“I played in pain due to a bruised ankle in the one-dayers against medical advice. But now I think I’ve around two weeks to recover and be 100 per cent fit before the first Test against India,” he said before leaving for Dubai to take a break ahead of the gruelling series against India next month.

(PTI)