Irfan had had problems on Thursday with the new ball after Sanath Jayasuriya launched into an early offensive, and though the Indian paceman did dismiss him, the need for more work was reiterated by his opening-spell figures of 5-0-42-1.

An optional practice was slotted on Friday at the request of Irfan, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Ravindra Jadeja and the parameters of their work were to be judged by Sachin Tendulkar, who agreed to pad up against the bowlers. “This is the correct length, you didn’t give me width to cut the ball,” he kept telling Irfan.

Tendulkar was giving final touches to the job started by Zaheer the previous night, as Irfan, monitored closely by Venkatesh Prasad, bowled with a semi-new ball to an imaginary field.

“It was a special gesture from Sachin to agree to come with us for this optional practice. It’s a relaxed environment and he passed on invaluable information,” said coach Gary Kirsten, who also helped Tendulkar wipe out little difficulties in his on-side play that has been getting him leg-before this series.

The Indian coach defended Irfan. “It’s been difficult for him. He’s been in and out of the side and hasn’t played many games. He’s worked really hard and the kind of work ethic he has is admirable. I hope it will be suitably rewarded.”

As things stand, Irfan is still a work in progress, but this time he isn’t looking too far outside for advice. Having learnt his lessons, now he’s merely looking for a set of motivators.