Geoffrey Boycott, never that keen to tour India, had put aside his fears for his health and agreed to join the England party for the winter series there.

This tour, incidentally was to end his controversial career as an England Test cricketer.

Talking to this writer many years back at the Colombo Oval dressing room (now the P. Sara Stadium) on a tour to Sri Lanka, Boycott revealed the men who sent him home in disgrace — the then England captain, Keith Fletcher, and the tour manager, Raman Subha Row.

"I was always nervous about the prospect of undertaking a long tour and coming away with a serious illness. My medical history, after the loss of my spleen when I was eight, was not exactly comforting and neither were reports of India I had from elder players," Boycott opened the conversation.

"My view of the country changed somewhat in 1980, when we played the Jubilee Test in Bombay on our way back from Australia. The stay was short, about ten days, and the Taj Mahal Hotel was superb. Everyone was anxious to impress, I still remember Boycott telling me on that occasion.

"My relationship with Fletcher and Raman Subba Row, the England manager, soured after an incident when the captain reportedly said he had ordered not to get a move on during the Test in Delhi. It was untrue and I demanded an apology. I eventually got it, but at a high price. Feeling between us became icy after that," he said.

"My health degenerated, too and at the end of the Test, I woke in the small hours running a temperature, shaking feverishly and suffering from diarrhoea. Subah Row insisted I fly on with the rest of the party to Calcutta that night."

"In Calcutta, I hardly had the strength for nets, a few minutes at a time as much as I could take. I fell terrible when we went into the Test and got worse as the match progressed. I could not face feed for three days and spent most of the game ill in bed at the hotel," he went on.

"Fever, constant diarrhoea, not eating and taking hardly any liquid left me listless and very down. Subba Row’s attitude was pure bloody mindedness. I did not expect him to sit at my bedside, but I did expect him to cooperate, at least, in anything which would get me back on my feet. He obviously did not give a damn," Geoff revealed.

"Bernard Thomas, the physiotherapist, advised me to get out of my room if I could. I had only been out for about 20 minutes in three days, and suggested I should go for a walk in the fresh air. Try to get to the ground, if only to pack your case," Thomas had told Boycott.

"The only place reasonably nearby where it was possible to walk without ploughing through thousands of people was the golf course. Since they were not playing in the match, I asked Geoff Cook and Paul Allott if they fancied joining me. Cook wanted to come, but couldn’t get out of 12th man duties. They thought they should hang around," he said.

"I walked a few holes of the course, knocking a golf ball for the exercise, sitting down when I felt wearied. The suggestion that I went off and played around of golf created vision of Boycott striding out, marking a card, oblivious to his team mates or his responsibilities, which was utter rubbish. As far as I was concerned, I was trying to take Thomas’ advice and get a bit of fresh air to buck myself up."

Subba Row was on the phone as seem as I got back to the hotel. "You went without my permission and the team is very annoyed about it. You’d better come to my room," Row had told Geoff.

"When I got there, Subba Row had been joined by Fletcher, Willis, and Thomas, and the mood was very accusing. I pointed out that Bernard had suggested that I got out for a walk and I could only apologise if my actions had been misunderstood. I had not done anything surreptitious. I’d even mentioned it to players in the dressing room and nobody threw their hands up in horror."

"The fact that they were annoyed and frustrated at not being able to force a win in the Test was understandable, but I did not fancy the idea of them taking it out on me."

"The more we talked the less we agreed and I’d had a bellyful of it. Subba Row demanded a written apology and said I should apologise to the players. There followed a pathetic discussion about exactly how I should deliver it. In the end I promised a written apology for him, a written apology for the players and a written resignation from the tour," Boycott said.

"I went into the adjoining players’ room, borrowed a pen from Botham and wrote out my letters of apology and resignation. I stuck the players’ letter on the door of the fridge where everybody would be bound to see it. The fridge contained the beer," he remembered.

"Next morning, Subba Row and Flectcher came to my room and reiterated their belief that it would be best for everyone if I went home. This was the only time Fletcher came to see me during my illness."

Subba Row saw me off at the airport. I reckon he was glad to see the back of me, and the feeling was mutual," he said.

"Looking back," he said, "I could easily appreciate what a bad impression I must have given that day in Calcutta."

Boycott, too ill to field, goes off playing, playing golf while his England team mates are fighting hard in a Test match was the accusation.

Put as badly as that it looked terrible. But the facts were slightly different and Boycott was sure the significance of the whole incident was magnified by attitudes which has already been struck.

Geoff boycott always a loner. He was quite outspoken and was of maligned and much misunderstood, too.

And he did pay the price.