'It's about doing your best'

The former Indian captain, however, ruled out the possibility of either extraneous or self-imposed pressure taking over on his comeback to limited-overs international cricket. On Sunday, the 36-year-old was picked in the Indian one-day squad for the first time in nearly two years, and he told Deccan Herald that he didn’t see himself going out to prove a point to himself, or anybody else.

“I have never played my cricket that way, wanting to prove a point,” Dravid pointed out. “To me, it’s about trying your best to be the best you can be, day after day, in whichever format you are playing and for whichever team you are playing.

“All I can say is that I will do my best for the team’s cause. I have always believed in preparing well before a match or a competition, and it will be no different this time,” added Dravid, dismissing the possibility of butterflies in the stomach on his return to the one-day game in Sri Lanka next month.

As is his wont, Dravid wasn’t sitting in front of the television set all Sunday morning, or keeping an eye on his phone, wondering if he was going to be picked or not.

In fact, ever since he was named last month in the probables’ list for the Champions Trophy, while almost everyone drawn to Indian cricket had a view, Dravid himself was remarkably untouched by all that was happening around him.

That isn’t to say that he doesn’t feel a thrill at returning to a format that has fetched him upwards of 10,500 runs at the highest level.

“It’s nice to be back, I am very happy,” said the man who is one of only six players in the world to have amassed more than 10,000 one-day international runs.

“I am looking forward to the Sri Lanka tri-series and the Champions Trophy in South Africa, to giving it my best. It will be nice to catch up with the boys once again.”