Calcutta, Nov 17 :     There is a nip in the air, and for many, it?s time to resurrect mildewed cricket kits from dark corners and lofts. It?s time to send the whites to the laundry, and to tighten spikes on the boots. Another cricket season in the city is round the corner and, when the sweet sound of leather meeting willow wafts across the Maidan, there will probably be more youngsters dreaming big this time. There was so much said on their behalf today as two of their own, Sourav Ganguly and Devang Gandhi, walked out at the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi. Two players from this city opening the innings for India? Even a few years ago, such a suggestion would have invited ridicule, even in informed cricket circles. However, what the irrepressible Sourav began in the summer of ?96 was today reiterated in a most emphatic fashion as the childhood chums stitched together a partnership of 117 runs. The road from the Maidan doesn?t stop at the Ranji ranks any more. Beginning their cricket careers about the same time, Sourav and Devang moved through the ranks together, making their way up from the Bengal under-16 squad to the first-class strata. Both were always very conscious of physical, and with time, both have aquired a rare mental discipline. ?It?s not possible to break into the big league without this mental discipline,? said former cricketer Gopal Bose. Both can pack a punch into a shot but, while Devang is all about powerful shoulders, Sourav achieves it with rare timing. Also, while Sourav has the sort of natural skills that?s very hard to ignore, Devang is all about hard work and self-belief. Bose, who too had opened the innings for India, with Sunil Gavaskar in unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka, was the coach when Devang started out at the Northern Park. ?Devang is a pleasant surprise, a very good example of how hard work can get you what you want,? he said. Sourav made a sensational Test debut, at Lord?s in 1996, and Devang?s, in the series against New Zealand, has been very impressive too. Both have also been very quick learners. If Sourav and Devang are now all set to fly out with the Indian team for Australia, Laxmi Ratan Shukla is in the Caribbeans with the India A side. Then there is Nikhil Haldipur, whose cracking unbeaten 131 in a recent match against Assam underlined his tremendous potential. There are others as well, pegging away and with a belif in their abilities that never aws quite there before. Oh yes, there is a new wind blowing in the Maidan.