Kohli, the India captain, topped the batting chart across teams with 593 runs, well ahead of second-placed Jos Buttler, who had 349. But the rest of the Indian batsmen, bar the occasional show of class from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane – before KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant scored centuries in the last Test with the series already gone – did little of note when it mattered.

That undid the good work of the pace attack led by Ishant Sharma, who kept England on a tight leash for the most part.

From that batch of ‘A’ cricketers, who Dravid coaches along with the Under-19 boys, Pant has just made the move up to Test cricket, and shone bright in the final Test with a stroke-filled century.

“You see a young kid come through and perform the way they do, Rishabh does what he does or a (Hanuma) Vihari did what he did, or young Khaleel Ahmed the other night [in the Asia Cup] – to see some of them come through and the joy it brings to their faces … it gladdens your heart,” said Dravid.

“I might be a coach, but I am a fan in that sense of the word as well. When you see a young Indian talent come through, you feel good about it.”