Agarkar leads the pack

The thought of Ajit Agarkar being the senior-most member of the Indian pace attack might sound incongruous, especially because of the manner in which he has flitted in and out of the side, but he appears to have slipped seamlessly into the role of an elder statesman. Being the only member of the fast-bowling brigade to have toured the West Indies, Agarkar felt it was his responsibility to carry the younger fast bowlers along, nurturing them as the tour goes on.

"I have a chat with them once in a while and try and suggest a few things if I notice it," he said ahead of India's opening game of the tour. "I hope I can pass on some of the things I have learnt. It doesn't require any rocket science to figure out how to bowl in one-dayers, especially on slow pitches that support batting, but it's important to bowl straight and maintain a tight line. Restricting the runs helps you get wickets. There is very little margin for error."

Suddenly Agarkar finds himself as the head of a pack - a varied bunch that India have unearthed over the last three years. The swing and lift that Irfan Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh can generate has posed its share of problems but it's been the skid of Sreesanth and the speed of Munaf Patel that's added zing to the attack. "Both Sreesanth and Munaf have stood out and done very well in the last couple of series. Fast bowling is something you naturally pick up and build on it, and the success of these two guys augurs well for the future."

Agarkar would have fond memories of his trip last time, when he picked up three wickets apiece in two of the games and helped India to a series win. "I had a reasonably good tour last time. The pitches then were very slow and batsmen friendly. The conditions are not too different from what we get in India. It swung a little bit last time but not too much. I don't know how it will be this time, but the experience of having been here will definitely help."