Less than 30 years ago, Vinod Kambli was a statistician’s delight. 793 runs: That’s the number of Test runs he scored in his first seven Tests. 113.29: That was his Test batting average for 1993. 224 and 227: His top scores for that year. Today, his financial condition is such that he’d be willing to do anything connected with cricket to earn these figures in cash.

Had we not been expecting Kambli, 50, we’d find it difficult to recognise him with a grey beard and hat as he slow-walked his way to the table at the MCA-BKC coffee shop on a wet Tuesday afternoon. The weight-loss may not mean he is super fit although he stresses later that to coach a team, one has to be fit and hence lost weight.