Srinath says pace bowlers can do the job in Australia

Javagal Srinath, who has shouldered India's pace-bowling burden for a decade, hasn't confirmed his availability for the new season, but he believes India now has the pace attack to give it the edge it will need in Australia in December and January.

Srinath believes the evidence is there to be seen in the side's performances over the past year, in England, and in the two international tournaments, the ICC Champions Trophy and the World Cup, where India were the beaten finalists. Even in the midst of their harrowing tour of New Zealand, the attack of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra had shown their abilities to take advantage of conditions that suited them.

The ability of the pair had been seen when bowling India to a Test win in England last year, Srinath said, and that was evidence enough of their potential to do the job in Australia. Srinath went so far as to say the pace bowling stocks available to India at the moment were the best in the country's history.

He told Rediff.com, "For the first time we have a bank of fast bowlers who are sharp and ready for international cricket." He had no comment on his own availability for the tour and, before that, the Test and one-day series against New Zealand.

Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reports about Nehra's readiness for the New Zealand series. Nehra told the website that he felt he would be ready, despite missing warm-up matches, while Indian administrators said they felt he would miss the Test series but be ready for the one-day series with Australia and New Zealand.

Nehra has only recently started bowling again after surgery on an ankle he injured during the World Cup.