With controversy still brewing over the proposed TV commercials in South Africa, the selection of the Indian Test and one-day teams to play in England later this month was reduced to a mere sidelight. That in itself was a real pity because this Tri-Series tournament - also featuring Sri Lanka - will be a welcome change from the staple diet of meaningless limited overs matches. All three teams are grouped together in the World Cup to be held in South Africa next March and these matches, though they will be played in vastly different conditions, will offer some interesting insight into what we can expect next year. They also give the team managements further opportunity to decide on their first choice elevens, and the fringe players who can make a difference when called on.

For most of the Indian squad, this will be a journey into the unknown. The young batsmen will be tested the most. English conditions have a cruel habit of exposing those with imperfect techniques and even the relatively batsmen-friendly format of the one-day game won't spare them a searching examination. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Dinesh Mongia and Virender Sehwag have prospered on the docile tracks that they have encountered so far, but the English summer will be a real test, especially if the clouds decide to hover over the grounds.

For the bowlers, the tour will be both a challenge and an opportunity. With the think tank ignoring his one-day claims, the chances of Javagal Srinath making a comeback are pencil-thin to say the least and that means that Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar and Tinu Yohannan, among others, can stake a claim to make the new ball their own for the foreseeable future. All three impressed in spells in the Caribbean but consistency as a unit still eludes them. Harbhajan Singh and the other spinners are unlikely to have much joy in England, so that makes it all the more important that the pace bowlers deliver. Not that it will be easy, with the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jaywardene, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff lying in wait.

A generation ago, Roger Binny, Madan Lal and Chetan Sharma (Kapil Dev, the leader of the pack and a cut above the rest) excelled in conditions that suited the swing and seam bowlers, without being anywhere near as talented as the current quartet. What they did do was keep their heads and make optimum use of the pitches and atmospheric conditions. The present-day bunch are raw and underdone, but they have a world to gain and reputations to build against some of the world's best batsmen.

The experienced hands will have to be the steadying influence on the tiller. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their names on the last tour here, while Sachin Tendulkar made his first Test hundred at Old Trafford 12 years ago. All three will have to come to the fore in the likely event of the young guns struggling to fire in an alien battlefield. The fourth veteran, Anil Kumble, though is unlikely to be more than a fringe player.

The wicketkeeping conundrum continues. Rahul Dravid will step into the breach in most of the one-day games, endangering his digits in the process, only because India refuse to show faith in a young and talented wicketkeeper who already has a Test century to his name. For the Tests, the selectors have thrown caution to a force ten gale and gambled with Parthiv Patel as Ajay Ratra's deputy. Perhaps, they're hoping he'll do a Tendulkar and adapt easily to the rarified atmosphere of Test cricket.

It's a young squad that will learn much with every match they play on tour. Some will make much of the relative lack of experience, but perhaps that's a good thing. In recent seasons, Indian cricket has repeated the mistakes of the past with impunity. The new breed, with little previous experience to draw upon, will have to make their own way and for Indian cricket, that's not a bad thing.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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