Junior players have, in the past, muttered about how they were getting no help from the seniors. In fact, never mind help, the seniors rarely if ever bothered to pass the time of day with the younger lot.

That has changed -- and no one typifies this change as much as Anil Kumble. At Wright's insistence, Kumble has been part of the camp and has been carrying his share, and more, of the workload.

His responsibilities include planning the practise schedules, getting the team to the ground in time, organising the batting order in the nets, filming them with a camcorder to produce data for the evening strategy sessions... all with a dodgy shoulder and an arm in a sling. To top it off, he is one of the seniors deputed to supervise practise sessions in the field, and he works his group tirelessly, coaxing, cajoling, encouraging, exhorting...

Another involved senior is Srinath, who seems to have made it his mission in life to encourage the youngsters to take their exercise sessions seriously. In this, he works with Kumble every morning, personally ensuring that no one slacks off, and that the stretching and warming-up routines are scrupulously followed.

The young ones are loving it, what's more. The other day, at the end of a session, the group burst into spontaneous applause, as their means of thanking Srinath for his efforts. The fast bowler grinned, and looked embarassed.

For his part, Sachin is seen at his best when the guys get down to playing games. The other day, an impromptu game of baseball sees the former captain leading the way. "Come on, guys, let's do it again," he yells. "Aise dhile mat khade raho (Don't just stand there like that). Let's enjoy ourselves!"

Enjoyment in fact seems to be the leitmotif here -- that, and a workload hard enough to have the guys mumble 'Leg and leg' when you meet them in the evenings.

Open and shut