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NEW DELHI (India): India's search for an expert to guide its young crop of fast bowlers on the upcoming tour of Australia appears to have ended at the doorstep of Pakistani legend Wasim Akram.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering a request from captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright to hire Akram as the bowling coach of the national team, officials said on Wednesday. "We are talking to Akram to see if he will be available for the Australian tour as a consultant," BCCI treasurer Jyoti Bajpai said.

A final decision will be taken later this week when Akram meets Indian cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya in Calcutta, Bajpai said.

Media reports quoted Ganguly as saying the team management had proposed the name of Akram, who is currently in India on a personal visit. "Why Akram? Simply because he is the greatest fast bowler of the modern era," Ganguly said.

"It helps that Akram will anyway be in Australia for the India series," a BCCI official said. "We should take advantage of his presence there." The Indian team, which departs for Australia on Friday, includes three left-arm seamers in the Akram mould - Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and rookie Irfan Pathan.

The Indian government last month ended a three-year boycott of bilateral cricket matches against Pakistan, paving the way for the arch-rivals to schedule a long-awaited Test series in Pakistan in March-April next year.

India last played a Test match in Pakistan in 1989. Akram was the Pakistan captain during a three-Test tour of India in 1999. India open their tour of Australia with two warm-up matches before the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane from December 4.

The second Test will be played in Adelaide from December 12-16 followed by the third at Melbourne (Dec 26-30) and the fourth at Sydney (January 2-6).

India, who have not won a Test series outside the sub-continent since 1986, have secured just three victories in 28 Tests in Australia, the last coming way back in 1981. On the last two tours of Australia in 1991-1992 and 1999-2000, India lost seven of their eight Test matches, five of them inside four days.

PCB also to utilize services of Wasim

Pakistan Cricket Board will utilize the services of veteran record holder pace bowler Waseem Akram by offering him the job to train young fast bowlers.

"Certainly we want Waseem with us, he was a great bowler and an all rounder and we would like to offer him a job to assist PCB in the development of our fast bolwing department", Lt Gen (r) Tauqir Zia, Chairman, PCB, told newsmen here Wednesday.

When his attention was drawn that Wasim has been offered a job by the Indian Cricket Board to groom their young fast bowlers, he said, it is time that the former Pakistan skipper should contribute and serve the Pakistan cricket. He said PCB would like to acquire the services of Wasim rather seeing him serving the Indian cricket and said much also depends on him to decide his future with Pakistan Cricket or Indian Cricket.

"It is time to return something to your country which owes it from you as you earned fame and everything", he said in a emotional tone. "They are the greats of Pakistan and they must consider what their country demands from them and they should serve their country rather serving abroad", he maintained.

He said PCB wants to utilize the services of former test cricketers in a way to develop the game on modern lines and to provide jobs for the welfare. General Tauqir said PCB was only playing an active role in the development of cricket but taking steps for the welfare of former cricketers and players.

The brilliant 37-year-old left-armer retired from cricket in May with 414 Test wickets and a world record tally of 502 wickets in the shorter version of the game. Akram has already been signed by Rupert Murdoch's television company, ESPN-Star Sports, to commentate on India's four-Test series in Australia starting next month.