Frequency has often been feared as the biggest threat to Indo-Pak cricket series, which has been an annual feature since 2005. But for various reasons, none of the past editions had to suffer from audience atrophy as they churned out exciting moments in abundance.

With another series a touch away, a zillion eyes and hearts will be waiting anxiously for the drama to unfold. There will be — as usual — new heroes, fallen warriors and jaw-dropping moments.

But beyond all these expected elements, spotlight from day one will be fixed on one man, who will have to perform one of the toughest jobs on a sporting field — redemption — in this series. It will be a task that Shoaib Akhtar will perforce have to accomplish alone, and the outcome will entirely be dependant on his on and off field activities.

Perhaps, this will be the last chance for the fast bowler with an inflammable-at-anytime tag to escape a past that has been a pot-pourri of controversies. The last season, especially, will go down as a nightmare in Akhtar's career with the fast bowler getting embroiled in scandals of every nature.

Dope test

It all started in October 2006 when he and fellow paceman Mohammad Asif failed in a Pakistan Cricket Board-conducted dope test and had to return without playing a match in the Champions Trophy.

Akhtar was slapped with a two-year ban from international cricket that many thought would be the killer blow.

But the Rawalpindi Express found some fresh steam to chug along when he got a reprieve after an appeal, allowing the PCB to name him in the 2007 World Cup squad. But he withdrew at the last minute citing poor fitness, his eternal curse, but the whispers were about his fear of failing another dope test.

However, the pulling out did not cause any harm as Pakistan's campaign in the showpiece event had a catastrophic end.

He received another chance to assert his status as his country's premier pacer when he was drafted in the Twenty20 World Cup side, but Akhtar's search for glory was aborted after his spat with Asif.

The temperamental quick missed all but one match against South Africa recently, but in the fifth and last one-dayer in Lahore, Akhtar showed the value he brings to the Pakistan attack. He took four wickets to restrict the visitors in an incisive nine-over spell, but the batsmen could not capitalise on his effort.

The display proved that Akhtar was in good shape physically and mentally. Now the challenge in front of him is to dish out a sustained performance against a far more formidable foe over a month.

This Indian trip will be a golden opportunity for Akhtar to pilot Pakistan's journey to a new era after the retirement of Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Personally, at 32, Akhtar is gradually entering his sell-out date as a pace bowler, and a winning performance against India could well elevate him to a status that he was marked out for long ago, but has always struggled to achieve.

Sehwag’s challenge

A cricketer three years younger to Akhtar too will be undertaking a journey of salvation. Virender Sehwag has received a thin lifeline of two one-dayers to prove that he still belongs to the highest level.

Apart from a characteristically blistering half-century in the just-concluded Challenger Trophy in Ahmedabad, Sehwag has not come up with any substantial innings of late, and the Delhi opener's selection, in place of Rahul Dravid, might come under for sharp scrutiny in the series. It is up to Sehwag to exploit those chances and cement his place in the side.

A batsman in the caliber of Dravid will most certainly be missed, particularly against a varied attack that Pakistan bring along. Besides, Akhtar and Asif, the visitors have left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir and a clutch of tricky spinners who have the ammunition to excel in Indian conditions.

Dravid's ability to marshal the batsmen around him in a crisis is impeccable, and his unflappable temperament too adds to his value. If Dravid has indeed been given a break, the selectors should not show any delay in bringing him back for the remainder of the series.

It will be a sort of comeback series for Mahendra Singh Dhoni as well. After emerging second best in the recent series against Australia, Dhoni needs a good show from his team to sit comfortably in the throne of the captain.

The series loss against the Aussies did not bruise him that much thanks to the world champions’ aura of invincibility in any conditions, and also because of the fact that the euphoria of the Twenty20 World Cup triumph was still to fade away. But an indifferent series against Pakistan might change the scenario.

It might not be an exaggeration to think that the blueprint of India’s and Dhoni's future will be drawn in this series.