“My first memories of India in Test cricket are from the 1980-81 tour of Australia, and of the Adelaide Test in particular,” Gilchrist recalled. “If I remember right, Kim Hughes made a double hundred, but what stood out was Sandeep Patil’s brave hundred, one game after he was got a nasty blow on his head from Len Pascoe.
“There has generally been the perception that the Indians play well at home but struggle when they travel. In my time, I have seen them grow very confident and adept at playing on the world stage.”

Between them, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have more than 45,000 international runs and upwards of a hundred centuries. Jointly name the Cricketers of the Year for the era 1997-2006, the two pointed to overseas triumphs as the most satisfying moments of their international careers.

“Test series win abroad are always special, so the win in England has to be top of the chart,” Tendulkar said. “I wasn’t a part of the team that won in the West Indies last year, and I was disappointed for myself but happy for the team. The series win in England in August is number one, though I have also enjoyed Test wins in Adelaide, Johannesburg and Port of Spain.”

Dravid said it was ‘fantastic’ to see the approach of the younger lot. “It was fantastic to watch the way they played in the Twenty20 World Cup,” the man who gave up the Indian captaincy just over a fortnight back observed. “The spirit was brilliant. The game keeps evolving in that it is getting quicker and faster. Particularly in India, fielding and fitness standards have improved dramatically. I am convinced that the next generation of fielders from India will be really good.’

Tendulkar’s take was, “It is wonderful to see the young guys playing big shots, I just enjoy it.”
The man who has symbolised Indian cricket for 18 years now had an interesting point of view. “I think if you are fit enough to go out and bat and do the job for the team, that’s very essential...,” the little main trailed off. “But yes, fitness really is an integral part of today’s cricket, though you can’t have all eleven men fielding like panthers.”