Shoaib Malik

Karachi: Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed feels the upcoming tour of India will help captain Shoaib Malik to fine tune his captaincy skills.

“Cricket in India is tough and I think Shoaib Malik will mature as a captain there. I think he is a good choice and he can take pressure at the highest level,” said Mushtaq.

He said Malik would make mistakes as part of his learning process and people should refrain from expecting too much from the young skipper.

“It is unfair to expect him to start delivering so quickly. He will take his time… Remember, he has replaced someone as experienced as Inzamam-ul Haq,” Mushtaq said.

The veteran spinner predicted a close and tough battle between the arch-rivals.

“It will be a close series and I think Pakistan will be able to give a good fight. It will be tough because India are also in the process of settling their Test and one-day teams.

“They have a new captain in one-dayers but are undecided in Tests. Pakistan should take advantage of the uncertainty prevailing in the set-up right now,” said Mushtaq, who has taken 185 Test and 161 one-day wickets for Pakistan.

Mushtaq felt that India may experience the pressure of playing before the home crowd.

“India are not settled because they are now blooding young players… There will be pressure on them while playing at home.”