NEW DELHI  - With less than 24 hours to go before Pakistan and England meet for the first time in a Test series since the spot-fixing fiasco, the talk about that ill-fated series is inevitable. But, former skipper Wasim Akram reckons the past has been buried.
"The new chairman, Zaka Ashraf, needs to be commended for bringing a positive influence. He seems to be an encouraging leader and that seems to have rubbed off on skipper Misbah-ul-Haq too! The PCB seems to have placed a lot of faith in him, and the results are there for everyone to see," said Akram in an exclusive chat with ESPNSTAR.com from Perth.
Unlike the past, where a few senior players have always had issues either with the Board or the team management, the current side looks well settled. Akram attributed this to the confidence levels within the team.
"It's good to see every player backing the other. The days of infighting and rifts seem to be over. Mohsin Khan in his capacity as interim coach has done well. It is not easy to handle a side, knowing well that you may not be around for too long," quipped Akram.
Pakistan, who've shifted their home base to the UAE over the last two years, would probably acclimatize to the conditions quicker than England. But, Akram warned the 'hosts' against complacency.
"I'd still believe it is 50-50. There is no clear favourite. Yes, Pakistan will be hard to beat on these dry wickets, but they can't take things for granted.  England are the number one Test side, who'd want to extend their run at the top.
“For these conditions, England seem to have found an ideal foil for Graeme Swann, in the form of Monty Panesar who did well in the warm-ups. They bat till number 9 too, so it should be a riveting series," reckoned Akram.
The pitches in UAE have always tended to assist spin early, but Akram backed the Pakistan pace-battery to come good. "I believe we've a pace attack that can pose a serious challenge to strong line-ups like England and South Africa. Aizaz Cheema can swing the ball, while Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul are good exponents of the reverse swing. My eye will be on Junaid Khan, who has been a revelation. It will be a tough call to drop one of them," said the former skipper.
Akram also had a word of advice for lead spinner Saeed Ajmal. "He should stop talking about 'mystery' deliveries and just focus on his bowling. The reason why we were good at reverse swing is, we didn't talk about it and give a chance to the opposition to study the subtle change in grip and ball condition," explained Akram.
The batting on the other hand is finally looking in fine shape. Akram believes, the presence Umar Akmal, who has earned a recall for the Test series, amidst the seniors will add some life and solidity.
"He is definitely an asset. The only problem is that he can get impatient and times and look to slog every ball, like in a T20 game. If he learns to stick around, this boy will make plenty of runs for Pakistan," Akram signed off.
While one team will like to start with renewed ideas to counter the sub-continent conditions, the other start with renewed hope. It surely promises to be an exhilarating series.