Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday fired the first salvo at Pakistan, saying absence of their former captain Inzamam-ul Haq would give hosts India an edge in the upcoming series.
Pakistan, led by young captain Shoaib Malik, will play a full fledged series of five one-day internationals and three Tests against India from November 5.
"No doubt Pakistan is a tough team but without star batsman Inzamam-ul Haq, who recently announced retirement from international cricket, Indian team will definitely have an edge over its arch-rivals," Harbhajan told reporters on the sidelines of inauguration of a Reebok showroom in Jalandhar.
"Inzamam had the capability to turn the fate of a match under any circumstances and his absence would definitely be useful for Indian team," he added.
The slow bowler, however, said India would not take things easy with all-rounder Shahid Afridi and prolific batsman Mohammad Yousuf still a part of Pakistan.
"Pakistan has star players like Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik and Indian team will have to play at its optimum potential to win the series," he said.
Harbhajan said it would be imperative for India to win against Pakistan as it would set the tone for the next series in Australia.
"Win against Pakistan would definitely boost the morale of the team and set a tone for series with Australia on its home grounds," Harbhajan said.
On the spat between Indian and Australian players during the recent ODI series, the Punjab bowler revealed that S Sreesanth and he had only reacted to the Australian players' comments and would continue to do that in future as well.
"We will reply to the aggression of Australian players on their home ground in the upcoming series.
"Australian players try to put mental pressure on the opponent team through their aggressive comments and gestures, but this does not work and what works is the performance of the players," he said.
