Post England, India will find themselves busy at the Twenty20 World Cup, hosting Australia and Pakistan and then embark on the toughest assignment of them all - a Test and one-day tri-series in Australia.

The hallmark of all these could be the young and exciting newcomers who may gradually start becoming a part of this Indian team. However, this tough year ahead will also open a new chapter for the Big Three in Indian cricket - Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

The trio has a collective experience of 25,851 Test runs scored across the world, with Tendulkar now entering the 18th year of his international career and Dravid and Ganguly in their 11th.

In the wee hours of Wednesday Team India left on a new journey, abroad a British Airways flight.

Without a coach at the helm, Dravid has hinted that it will up to the seniors to guide the team in the next couple of assignments. “We have a fielding and a bowling coach now. As far as the batting is concerned, myself, Sachin and Sourav have enough experience,” he says.

With no new coach in sight, there is no doubt that the three seniors will have to do a lot more than just scoring runs. “You cannot start saying that this is a new chapter for the three of us or anything like that. It’s just very cliched. Maybe it’s the beginning of another cycle,” says Dravid.

However, it should be mentioned that apart from defeating minnows Bangladesh on the recent tour, the Indians have had faced a miserable time on overseas tours, including the recent World Cup in the West Indies.

Dravid doesn’t waste a moment, recalling the Test victories in West Indies and South Africa last year. But the Indians have deflated as a team. Tendulkar has faced questions over his form and fitness — in his last 17 Test innings, the Mumbai batsman has a mere 598 runs to his credit of which two centuries have come against Bangladesh. In fact, if the tour of Bangladesh has to be ignored, Tendulkar has a mere 324 runs in the last 13 Test innings.

Dravid himself has been on a low as far as getting runs are concerned in one-dayers. In Tests, the skipper showed top form with a couple of valuable knocks which he will be looking to remain consistent with. Dravid’s captaincy until now has been a matter of national debate across the country, especially during the World Cup. The upcoming tours will only add to his burden given a missing coach and lack of substantial success.

Ganguly’s two half centuries in South Africa last November were his only Test appearances since he made a comeback and the left-hander is waiting for a couple of opportunities before he can start collecting big runs once again. “Sourav has been scoring well and there’ll be a good opportunity for him to count on his England experience. This tour should give him a good reason to repeat those efforts,” says Dravid.

As individuals, the three players will find this tour extremely important in terms of finding the required form and touch that might help them sustain throughout the busy season ahead.

INDIA’S ENGLAND TOURS

(Starting with the first success)

1971: India’s first overseas Test series win. England were clueless against India’s three-pronged spin attack of Bishan Bedi (11 wickets), B Chandrasekar (13) and S Venkataragahavan (13). And a gentleman by the name Erapalli Prasanna, on the bench was no less a threat. The quartet accounted for 197 of the 244 wickets to fall in the series. A master-class 7 for 73 from John Snow saved England at Lord’s; India ended 38 runs from victory with two wickets in hand. At Old Trafford, it was India’s turn to struggle as rain came to their rescue, finishing on 65 for 3 chasing a target of 420. It was the glorious 173 run chase at The Oval that catapulted Ajit Wadekar’s India to the series win.

England 0 India 1 Drawn 2

1974: The glorious run of early 70’s came to an abrupt end with a shock 0-3 defeat. In the three preceding years, India had won all the three series they contested—two of them abroad. The weather was more formidable a foe than was perceived to be, but certainly not decisive. The English this time around were prepared to take on India’s spinners. At Old Trafford, England won by 113 runs. England scored 629 and then India were bowled out for 42 in a session in their second innings at Lord’s. England also won the final match by an innings.

England 3 India 0 Drawn 0

1979: The Test series was a ‘what could have been’ story for India. After a poor start to the four-Test series India gradually found their feet and ended by coming agonisingly close to levelling in the final Test. England rode home at Edgbeston with big knocks by Geoff Boycott (155) and David Gower (200), aided by good seam bowling. At Lord’s, hundreds from Gundappa Viswanath and Dilip Vengsarkar saved India after Ian Botham (5 for 35) bowled them out for 96. A rain-affected third Test at The Oval was blazoned as a glorious 221 from Sunil Gavaskar took India within nine runs of scoring 438 to win the match in a thrilling draw.

England 1 India 0 Drawn 3

1982: The era of Vengsarkar’s love affair with Lord’s. But Bob Willis and Botham had other plans as they bowled England to a seven-wicket win despite Vengsarkar’s brilliant 157. Poor weather meant a draw at Old Trafford. The Oval was lightened by Botham’s career-best 208 but could not fetch a result. But it was Botham’s duel with Kapil Dev that made it a series to remember.

England 1 India 0 Drawn 2

1986: A series win after a decade-and-a-half. But it didn’t affect them on the field as they won the one-day Texaco Trophy and beat England convincingly in the Tests. A third successive hundred for Vengesarkar at Lord’s paved way for first win. A crushing 279-run win at Leeds added another feather to the cap of India’s World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev. Even the third Test at Old Trafford had India in the driver’s seat but ended in a draw.

England 0 India 2 Drawn 1

1990: Graham Gooch with his 333 and 123 in two innings not only cut India’s string of ODI wins but also inflicted a massive blow with a 247-run win in the first Test. A 1-0 lead as it turned out was decisive. The batting paradise at Manchester was the platform for Sachin Tendulkar to give us a glimpse of things to come with the first Test century. An equally sublime 157 from David Gower saved England the blushes after they were made to follow on at The Oval.

England 1 India 0 Drawn 2

1996: A series that marked the debut of two of India’s finest batsmen—Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Besides that there is little that India drew from their 13th tour to England. Mohd Azharuddin was under a constant cloud as a leader over personal and leadership issues - and managed just 42 runs in five Test innings. India lost the first Test at Birmingham by eight wickets after the usual batting collapse. Lord’s fetched a draw, while Nottingham provided a high-scoring draw only notable for hundreds from Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

England 1 India 0 Drawn 2

2002: A topsy-turvy tussle that ended square. England got off to a solid start with a fairly comprehensive win at Lord’s. The second Test at Trent Bridge was a batting feast, but the series came alive at Headingley when India romped to an innings victory after amassing 628 for 8, courtesy hundreds from Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly. The series decider at The Oval ended with a washed out last day, but the match had been decided by a perfect pitch as both sides passed 500.

England 1 India 1 Drawn 2

— Compiled by Aditya Kumar