A bumper 1986-87 home season stared Indian cricketers in the face after returning from their victorious 1986 tour of England. It began with two ODIs against the visiting Australians in September, before the three-Test series opened at Chennai. The Sri Lankans were then hosted for a three-match Test series and a five-game ODI series before the Pakistanis arrived in late January, and their tour, involving five Tests and six one-day games, stretched for two months. In the midst of all this heavy-duty cricket, the top players even figured in domestic cricket.

The Duleep Trophy was held from October 20 to November 5 after the Australians left. Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, however, had already staged the first semi-final between North Zone vs South Zone on October 25, 1986, before hosting the October 31-November 5 final between West Zone and South Zone. The 1986-87 tournament involved a bevy of internationals. In fact, the North team that lost the semi-final to South had 10 India players, with Sarkar Talwar being the only non-India player in the playing XI. And West’s India internationals included skipper Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Aunshuman Gaekwad, Chandrakant Pandit, Lalchand Rajput, and Raju Kulkarni.