Cullinan warns: India won't be walkover

India's dismal form on their recent tour of Australia is unlikely to be an indication of the competition they will provide on South Africa's tour of the sub-continent, which includes two Test matches and five one-day internationals.

Sachin Tendulkar's team does not travel well, and this was again the case when they lost all three Tests to Australia and then managed only a single victory in the eight one-dayers they played in the recent triangular tournament against Australia and Pakistan.

One of the stalwarts of the South African batting line-up, Daryll Cullinan, warns against reading too much in to those results, pointing out that India are a very different proposition on home soil in front of their own fans.

"It must be remembered that Australia didn't win there last year, and when you look at the itinerary for our tour it is going to be tough for us," said Cullinan, who announced his retirement from limited-overs cricket during the fifth Test against England in the recent series here.

"We are immediately playing back-to-back Tests when we get there, which is going to be difficult when you consider most of our guys will have just come off a one-day series (with England and Zimbabwe).

"Also, we know nothing about the venue at Bangalore and very little about the ground at Mumbai, where we have only ever played one-dayers.

"As a batsman, I find it takes three or four games to adjust to foreign conditions. We won't have that luxury, so patience is going to be a key factor from a batting point of view."

Cullinan, 32, is aware of the risk attached to his giving up the shorter form of the game, but he stands by a decision he feels is indicative of the way cricket is changing, with more and more international teams turning to one-day specialists for limited-overs matches.

"I have felt for a while it is important to look at the two forms of the game differently," said the elegant Gauteng batsman, who finished second on the SuperSport averages with 460 runs in seven innings, at an average of 76,67 and with three hundreds.

"There is no doubt that the popularity of the one-day game and the amount of one-day cricket that is being played have eroded techniques in the first-class game.

"I realise there is an element of risk to what I have done. If a guy in the one-day side suddenly starts making runs all over the place, I suppose the selectors could be tempted to use him at Test level.

"But I still maintain success in limited-overs cricket doesn't necessarily guarantee success in Test cricket.

"Over a period of three to five years, very few players in the game today are successful at both forms of the game. With that in mind, I believe South Africa will move more and more towards separate Test and one-day squads, with maybe only a few common denominators."

He is now out of the frame for the 2003 World Cup on these shores and, although he recognises the need for rebuilding the national side, he hopes the selectors will not ignore all the more experienced players in the present squad.

"A player with 50-odd one-day games is still inexperienced today. That number of matches only amounts to about 18 months of international cricket and, in my view, it is not enough," he said.

"I feel that by the time the World Cup rolls around we will need three or four guys in the side who have played 250, 275 one-day internationals. A player needs a minimum of two years before he is able to really adapt to playing under different conditions and against different players.

"Also, the fact that the World Cup is being staged in South Africa suggests to me that we should try and play as many one-day internationals as possible at home in the next few years.

"Home-ground advantage will give us an edge over the opposition and we have to ensure all the guys in the side are familiar with every venue in the country."