The series between India A and West Indies beginning at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday may be purely of statistical relevance. But for many former India players in the squad it offers an opportunity to prove they still have the wares to display on the international circuit.

From a rookie who took a while to find his bearings in the team, to becoming one of the most dependable men in the Indian hockey team, V.R. Raghunath’s journey has been built on a solid foundation of skills, hard work and the ability to overcome testing times.

Unruly hair, unconventional looks, a twinkle in the eye, the exuberance he churns out during a conversation has made him a trend setter in Indian sport. Tennis ace Somdev Devvarman is far from his Grand Slam dreams, yet his commitment gets champions singing his praise.

An icon player, a star in the making and a talent par excellence. India’s latest badminton sensation P.V.

A towering personality at 6feet 4, Russian import Vladimir Ivanov pulled out his bag of tricks well in time to put it across R.M.V Gurusaidutt, winning 21-18, 20-21, 11-9 to give Mumbai Masters the op

Lee Chong Wei’s title hopes at the World Badminton Championship earlier this month evaporated in the heat at the stadium in Guangzhou. The world no.1 pulled out midway through the final due to cramps. A faulty air conditioner was blamed for his condition.

Coming from a nation obsessed with football and which has Rafael Nadal for a sporting icon besides world renowned golfers, catching the attention of Spaniards was never going to be an easy task.

With change in technology, technique and formats, it has become increasingly hard to classify players as complete all-rounders. But in the 1980’s when international cricket was played under just two formats, the traditional Test being more favoured, the men who led the pack of complete performance belonged to four different parts of the world.

On a bright Saturday morning, a man who made history in this city, returned to the place which holds a special place in his heart.

Long after Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman ceased to be Rahul Dravid’s team-mates, emerging cricketers like Sharath Srinivas, Nihal Ullal, Zeeshan Ali Saayed as well as Stuart Binny continue to match strides between the wickets and work in tandem with the legend on the field.