Until Afghanistan emerged as a cricketing nation, the first introduction of the country for generations of Indians came through school textbooks, via Rabindranath Tagore's short story Kabuliwala. It's a poignant tale of human connection and fatherly love, centred around Rahmat, a tall, rugged Afghan dry-fruit seller in Kolkata, and his unlikely friendship with a talkative five-year-old Bengali girl named Mini.
Left-arm spinner Ramesh Kumar, who was with Kolkata Knight Riders during IPL 2022, is not familiar with the story, but last week an Afghan batter offered him dry fruit if he could get him out.
Ramesh, known as Narine in cricketing circles as his bowling action resembles that of the legendary spinner, was called up as a net bowler ahead of India's one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh. Two days before the match, an Afghan batter, whose name he doesn't know, threw down a challenge to the spinners operating in his net.
"Whoever gets me out, I will give him dry fruit," he said. When one net bowler asked for a bat instead, the Afghan replied he couldn't spare one.
Ramesh quickly jumped in. "Okay, dry fruit it is. But how much?"
"However much you want."
"One kg then."
"Done."
For a while, the Afghan batter looked untroubled and started teasing the net bowlers. But soon after, Ramesh had him stumped (or would have, had a wicketkeeper been present). The batter acknowledged the dismissal and said, "Let's do a second round." A few minutes later, Ramesh trapped him lbw.
"He now owes me 2kg," the spinner says with a laugh.
The friendly vibes continued even after the session, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz sharing tips with local seamer Aryan Mehra, who had impressed him in the nets.
The conditions, however, were anything but friendly. With temperatures touching 40°C, it wasn't easy for fast bowlers to maintain their intensity for three hours.
Punjab seam-bowling allrounder Sumit Sharma, who has been with Rajasthan Royals as a net bowler for the past two seasons, said it was exhausting when he had to bowl back-to-back in the Afghanistan and India nets.
"I was coming off a two-month stint with Rajasthan Royals," he says. "And then bowling 15 overs a day here with only half an hour's break between the two sessions was tough on the body."
Yet, his eyes light up as he narrates his banter with Rishabh Pant. "I was bowling around the wicket to him," Sumit says. "When I bowled a bouncer, he said, 'Abbe helmet todega tu mera [You will break my helmet]."
Both Sumit and Ramesh - the latter has also been a net bowler with Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings - have plenty of experience bowling to international batters. For sidearm specialist Jaiprakash, though, this was his first time with any team at any level.
The 26-year-old hails from Ludhiana, and has worked with local boys Nehal Wadhera, Nikhil Chaudhary and Gitansh Khera in the past.
Impressed with his accuracy, Khera had recommended his name to the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA).
At most, Jaiprakash was expecting a stint with the Punjab team. When he got a call from the PCA saying he had to report in Mohali to help the Indian team ahead of the ODI series, he thought someone was playing a prank. Once he realised it was all genuine, his eyes filled with tears of joy.
"I have been working for four years in this field without anything really to show for it," Jaiprakash says. "I have two dreams: to bowl at India nets, and to bowl to Virat Kohli. Today, I was surplus to the requirements, as the team didn't need sidearmers, and Virat bhaiyya wasn't there either. But I feel I am one step closer to my goal.
"Moreover, I got to speak to Nuwan Seneviratne - the Sri Lanka-origin throwdown specialist who works with the Indian team. He told me what more I could add to my skillset, which was very helpful."
On Thursday, India and Afghanistan squads will travel to Dharamsala for the first ODI. But for Ramesh, Sumit, Jaiprakash and others, their past few days in New Chandigarh and Mohali will stay with them for a long time.