Vasant Raiji, the reputed Indian cricket historian, was once asked to write a piece for a book on Sir Donald Bradman published in Australia. His opening lines were: “Indians worship a multitude of gods. In Sir Donald Bradman they have their God of cricket. God is perfect. In the eyes of the Indians, Bradman is the perfect batsman. God is unseen. Indians have not seen Bradman play. God’s ways are inscrutable. Indians cannot comprehend why, in spite of numerous pressing invitations, Bradman never came to India. Whatever happens is God’s will. So if Bradman avoided India, it was Bradman’s will. Disappointment, but no ill-feeling or rancour.”