It’s been seven years since India last played a five-Test series at home. That was in 2016-17, coincidentally also against England, against whom Rohit Sharma’s men will square off in the first of five games from Thursday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here.

A five-Test series can be a double-edged sword. It can help players rediscover form after an iffy start, but it can also ruthlessly expose technical limitations, as happened with Virat Kohli on the tour of England in 2014 when he only managed 134 runs from 10 innings. Five-Test series also place massive demands on physical and mental reserves in this day of so much white-ball cricket, something that Rahul Dravid alluded to when it was pointed out to him that this year alone, India will be involved in two such showdowns, including the one in the winter in Australia.