Tepid endings and glorious beginnings: Vijay Lokapally remembers India tour of England in 1996

In this special episode, we chat with the veteran cricket writer Vijay Lokapally on India's 1996 tour to England. Vijay relives the incandescent innings and spells he witnessed through the tour - both in the Tests as well as the tour games. He also gives us a detailed recap of Navjot Sidhu quitting the tour and remembers a special interview he did with Sachin Tendulkar. Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi (PSA: Thank you for contributing towards our fund-raising drive for Covid relief in India. We have matched your contributions and donated to Unicef, who are doing great on-the-ground work and helping those in need) Talking Points: India playing a Test series after more than seven months of one-day cricket Vikram Rathour's string of runs in the tour games - and his reputation in domestic cricket The Navjot Sidhu fiasco - and Vijay's role in the series of events Tendulkar's symphony in the Edgbaston wreckage Devon Malcolm's fan-boy moment after Derbyshire's game v the Indians Sourav Ganguly's take-that moment at Lord's - and the pristine strokeplay Rahul Dravid's immaculate technique - as well as his love for books Venkatesh Prasad's break-out tour Sandeep Patil's challenges on his first assignment as team manager The captaincy changing hands and players who faded away at the end of the series Participants: Vijay Lokapally (@vijaylokapally) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Related: From Bedi to Kohli: a cricket writer's journey - 81allout podcast with Vijay Lokapally; Ganguly all set to make his Test debut - Vijay Lokapally's piece on the morning of the Lord's Test in 1996; Navjot Singh Sidhu's sudden mid-tour retirement raises questions - India Today archive; Lele reveals why Sidhu walked out of 1996 tour - Times of India; The man who stole the show - Wisden Almanac profile of Dickie Bird; Golden debuts - R Mohan's report on the Lord's Test; Highlights of the 1996 Lord's Test - YouTube video; Rahul Dravid 95 at Lord's on debut - YouTube video; Interview with Sourav Ganguly after his debut hundred - YouTube video; Sledges brawls and epic contests - 81allout podcast with Vijay Bharadwaj and Hemang Badani; Meaning of Sport - Simon Barnes; Breath of Sadness - Ian Ridley