Dravid - the understated genius

It was the perfect stage for him - one he is so used to. The limelight was on Tendulkar's 20 years in international cricket and the team's shoddy performances in the limited overs version, for which he was inexplicably selected and more inexplicably dropped. He stayed clear of the media and got himself some useful hits in Ranji for Karnataka.

The media went into overdrive trying to cover Tendulkar's 20 years - a frenzy in which the battle for the number 1 test spot was relegated to the back pages. Even when Dravid walked in to bat at 14/1 there were only the obligatory references to his immense career from the commentary team. Soon the scorecard read 32/4 - and the Lankan spinners were not even close to having a bowl.