Confident Dravid upbeat ahead of Pakistan tour

Ahead of his first foreign series as a Test captain, Rahul Dravid admitted that leading India against Pakistan was something he hadn't imagined he would do, when he began his career in 1996, and hoped the team could repeat the success that they had achieved on their last tour. Sporting the understated confidence that has been his hallmark all these years, Dravid, along with Greg Chappell, the coach, spoke about the exciting challenge and was upbeat about his side carrying on their superb run.

A few hours before boarding their flight from Delhi to Lahore, for a 45-day tour involving three Tests and five one-dayers, Dravid, Chappell and Sharad Pawar, the president of the Indian board, addressed the media and stressed the importance of cricket helping in fostering better relations between the two countries. "There will be tremendous interest in this series," said Dravid, "and a number of Indians and Pakistanis staying abroad will also be following us closely. A tour to Pakistan is special and we have fond memories of the last trip in 2004."

He confessed that he didn't envisage captaining India in such a big series and said he had taken things step by step. "I didn't think I would captain India when I made it to the Indian team in 1996. All I thought of was to establish myself as a batsman. After some years I got the vice-captaincy, then the captaincy. So it's been a gradual progression. It's not going to be a major difference this time. I have always thought it was important to play well abroad, in different conditions and I think I will aim for the same here. I think we have a good side with everyone contributing. It's important we continue to do the same."

Chappell echoed his views and was looking forward to the "marquee series of the subcontinent". He spoke about his visit to Pakistan as a player and termed it as a huge honour to be able to watch the events of the current series from the sidelines. "It promises to be an exciting series as both teams are in good form. The Pakistan team is playing with confidence and on the way up. We've had a few good results off late and hope to continue in the same vein."

He revealed that India would continue their policy of "strategising", with different players being called upon to perform different roles. "We've tried to build some flexibility into our side," he continued, "to cover certain eventualities and hope to implement some of those strategies in the next few weeks." While talking about the importance of preparing for the World Cup in 2007 - "we hope to settle into a groove as soon as possible and mould ourselves into a unit" - he insisted that every series was vitally important in itself.

Though he admitted he wasn't completely satisfied with the performance of the top order, Chappell was buoyant about things falling into place. "We have three openers and all are really good players. Whichever two we choose for the first Test, we will be confident of them doing well." He was looking forward to Zaheer Khan's return, after a four-month lay-off, and felt he had "done whatever we needed him to do".

Neither were willing to be drawn into the topic of individual battles and stated that one player, like Shoaib Akhtar, was not going to make too much of a difference to the team effort. "Any bowler who is doing well is an asset to the team," continued Dravid, "and one can't target one or two players. Anyone in form is going to add value to your side and we need to look at them as a team rather than as individuals." On a lighter note, he pooh-poohed suggestions of this being his biggest challenge to date and cheekily added," My biggest challenge at the moment is to try and get my son to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night."

Pawar, who revealed that he will be traveling to Lahore for the first Test, talked about the professionalism and transparency that the new administration were trying to put in place. He also wished the team well and, like the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vayjpee had done last time urged the team to not only win matches but also hearts.