Nearly ten years back, a Rawalpindi boy put an end to his ambitions of becoming a spin bowler. The reason was that batsmen were carting him for sixes. That day, he took another decision to use his left hand to do what almost every Pakistani kid would dream — bowl fast.

The journey of a fast bowler had begun. But Sohail Tanvir would not have imagined that he will be asked to step into the shoes of the legendary Wasim Akram one day. For him, it was the proverbial dream come true situation.

"Definitely, cricket is so popular in the sub-continent that every child at some point in his life, dreams of wearing the national colours. I was not different. But the difference, perhaps, between me and the others was that my dream had a backing of self-belief. I was confident of my abilities and I knew that I would become a Pakistan cricketer," Tanvir said.

It is premature to place somebody who has just played six one-day matches in such an exalted position, but Tanvir has certainly showed glimpses of his natural talent in the Twenty20 World Cup and in the on-going five-match one-day series against India.

The latter assignment can have a blood-chilling effect on a 22-year-old with its sheer enormity itself. But Tanvir has a simple answer to it. "Bahut saal pahle hum ek mulk the, pressure kahan se aaeyga? (Years ago, both countries were one. So there is no question of pressure!). "I always wanted to come to India. I wanted to see the culture," he added.

Perhaps, his words are also an indication of the attitude of the new generation Pakistan cricketers towards India, more warm and forthcoming.

It was tough to trace the same amount of warmth when he spoke about the pitches in this part of the world.

"Definitely, wickets in the sub-continent are very similar. They are always batsman friendly. We know what is in store for us. But we still manage to get wickets. It is extremely difficult, but we still do that."

At a glance Tanvir gives you the impression of a happy-go-lucky country lad, but a thinking cricketer hides beneath that mask. He has closely observed rule changes in one-day cricket and is wise enough to understand that it has made the life of his tribe all the more difficult.

"That's true. There's no room for error. You always have to be on your toes. But we (bowlers) should take it as a challenge, shouldn’t we? But it is very difficult to survive as a bowler these days."

Most certainly, his survival instincts will come under intense scrutiny when he faces Indian batsmen and Tanvir will have to bowl exceptionally well in the Test series if his status as the next big thing in Pakistan cricket is to remain intact.

Tanvir, however, is not the one to be intimidated by the reputation of Indian batsmen as reputation-breakers.

"They are all excellent batsmen. They are capable and technically very sound. But when I go out and play I don't let reputations affect me. I am very much into my own when I am playing.

"I have a lot of expectations from the series. Like you said, I have had a successful outing in the T20 World Cup.

My confidence level is high. Woh to hamesah rehta hai. It's all about confidence eventually," he detailed.

Apart from a lethal outswinger, Tanvir banks on an unusual wrong-foot action to come out on top in his duel with the Indian batsmen. He also does not use his non-bowling hand — right hand — while bowling and that makes it a demanding task for batsmen to read his deliveries.

Realising potential

Tanvir said he has realised the full potential of his action recently while watching it on TV during a domestic Twenty20 competition.

"I don't think I can change it now. In fact, I noticed that I had an unorthodox action and realised the potential when one of domestic T20 matches was shown on television. Obviously, now it's too late to change the action. In fact, I don't want to make any adjustments to my bowling. I am very comfortable with my action. I have gained an edge over batsmen. I generate swing and there is also the surprise element for the batsmen," Tanvir explained.

Now, the protagonists of one-day cricket might be thinking more of surviving Tanvir's spell than hitting him for sixes.