bangalore, september 16: Even as India is desperately on the lookout for openers, former England skipper Tony Greig suggested Sachin Tendulkar as an ideal choice for the slot.

India was well-endowed with a classy middle order, but the selectors and team management still faced the headache of filling the opening slots, he said.

‘‘It is so important that India find good openers. You need to have two solid openers,’’ Greig pointed out.

‘‘India has a very good middle order which includes (Rahul) Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin (Tendulkar) but the weakness is at the top. If India is two wickets down, there will be a lot of pressure on Sachin,’’ he said.

The tri-series, involving India, New Zealand and Australia, and India’s subsequent tour down under, would be ‘tough’ encounters, he felt.

‘‘If sachin is thinking about Australia, he will be thinking of scoring a double century and winning the series for his country. Ganguly is going to be a bit flashy. Dravid keeps fighting at one end and so the best would be to allow Sachin to launch. You should give him the best chance and let him see the new ball,’’ he added.

Agreeing with veteran spinning duo EAS Prasanna and Bishen Singh Bedi about giving importance to spinners in the team, Greig said two spinners in the team were a must. ‘‘Indian fast bowlers, though trained well, I feel, get tired by afternoon. They have to be fit and relatively confident.’’

To a question, Greig said ‘‘I think Australia will be expecting to win the series 2-0 and the bookmakers are backing it.’’

‘‘If India wins the first Test against Australia, the entire picture of the series may change,’’ he pointed out.

‘‘Australia will be expecting to win the first Test at Brisbane without Shane Warne. There are some factors which Australia is conscious about...they will be hoping to win without Shane Warne,’’ he added.

Greig said India might be a trifle worried about the Brisbane pitch as it was a little bouncy. ‘‘If they (India) can hold on Brisbane, things will change later,’’ he added.

Appealing to the players not to get personal while sledging, Tony said the need of the hour was self regulation.

‘‘In every game, there is sledging. But, it should not exceed its limit ... it is a bit of self-regulation that is needed,’’ he said.

Stating that the team captains and umpires had a role to play in sledging, he said ‘‘most of the guys who are umpiring know what is happening in the middle. And even the captains know what is happening.’’

It was up to the captains to control the situation, the former English player said, adding that ‘‘you (captain) are a leader. It is upto the leadership, like in any other walk of life. If a player is sledged at and if the captain says cool, he will calm down.’’