India, Sept. 2 -- In Bombay cricket of the late 1980s, being exceptional was not always enough. The city was producing young batters at such a frightening rate that even a junior cricketer good enough to stand beside Sachin Tendulkar could disappear from the larger national memory. One season offered a particularly striking illustration: Bombay's best junior cricketer honour was shared by Tendulkar and another young batter whose career would eventually travel in a very different direction.

Their paths had already crossed in representative cricket. Tendulkar captained a Bombay Under-17 side that also included Vinod Kambli, Jatin Paranjape and this other highly regarded youngster. Tendulkar and Kambli would soon become the most recognisabl...