After the day’s play Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly would be escorted out of the ground, scurrying cameras keeping pace with reporters with recorders or microphones, and autograph hunters with pieces of paper to a VIP parking area where two VVIP cars were stationed.

It wasn’t about starry tantrums of superstar cricketers who weren’t travelling in the team bus, but about the special status the two individuals deserve. The talk about the inspirational presence of Ganguly and Tendulkar in the dressing room and the field was omnipresent at Wankhede as awe-struck team mates narrated the odds-defying comeback tales of the two.

Depending on one’s proximity to either the Bengal or Mumbai dressing room, the story centres around Ganguly’s amazing mental strength that made him an international star, or Tendulkar’s ever-youthful mind in an injury-ridden aging body.

Bengal’s trainer Chinmay Nandi, who has spent countless hours with Ganguly during his domestication, draws one picture that gives an idea about the long and lonely journey the former captain had undertaken before he got a recall for the South African tour.

“Imagine a hot afternoon with me and Dadi alone at Eden Gardens, toiling under the sun. This happens to be the same stadium where Ganguly has heard 80,000 fans screaming, even if he just walks on the field. This was during the initial days of our training together and the eerie silence made me realise how tough it was going to be for him,” he says.

But, listening to Nandi for some more time, one gets an idea what was going on in the mind of the just-sacked star. “Very early, he told me that he was sure to be back in the Indian team since he wanted to make a point. He said that this wasn’t about the World Cup, but he wanted to be fit to play international cricket for two to three more years,” he says.

This resolve meant Ganguly losing 7 kg in 6 months and reaching body-fat measurements the lowest in his entire career. Repeated snubs and more rejections on selection days saw that famous Ganguly grit re-ignited.

Nandi has an anecdote ready as he distinctly remembers the day when VVS Laxman and Wasim Jaffer were picked for the one-dayers in South Africa before Ganguly. “That day he was a man motivated. He came to ground in a foul mood and we were supposed to do a sprint session. His timing that day would have been on a par with any top athlete. He was fired that day,” he says.

Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who travelled extensively with Ganguly while he became a frequent flier on the domestic circuit, also talks about the same positive mindset.

“At times we used to sit and watch international games in the hotel room at some remote place, and Dadi used to always appreciate a good performance. The bitterness was never there, though at times he used to get disillusioned and ask me to shut the telly,” he says.

As one moved towards the Mumbai camp one met Ramesh Mane, Team India’s masseur who, like the stars, was also on domestic duty for Ranji final.

Talk to him about Tendulkar’s way of dealing with the pains in his elbow, shoulder, back, knees and other dodgy anatomy, and he smiles. “Finally, it all boils down to the mind. There is no player on the circuit without an ailment, but Tendulkar has a way of dealing with it. He enjoys the game without being overtly worried about these injuries. It is this attitude that has seen him survive international cricket for so long,” he says.

Discipline happens to be the second precaution that Tendulkar has ingrained in himself. “Even for a Ranji game he is at the ground before time, goes through the drills and never misses a session. Once I went to his room a night before the game. The entire kit was neatly prepared the bats, gloves, thigh pad, helmet placed perfectly. Such small things show his work ethics and his professional approach. A strong mind takes care of these things,” he says.

When the Indians were touring the West Indies last time Ganguly and Tendulkar were busy healing the scars — mental and physical, respectively. But with days to go for a more significant Caribbean trip, they have regained their demi-god status and have a reserved VIP parking slot in the India team.