Ahead of Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant's visit to India, where he will be meeting students of the NBA Academy, ESPN remembers some other sportspersons who visited India while in their prime. Most came for sport, and the rest for a bit of fun, but each of them left an impression on a sports-mad nation.
Argentina football team (January 1984)
The occasion
It was the third edition of the Nehru Cup, being played at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta. Argentina, who were one of five teams invited to join hosts India in a round-robin league followed by a knockout, sent a largely experimental team.
What happened?
Argentina won three of their five games, including a 1-0 win over India, which was as many as any of the other teams. A 1-0 defeat to China saw them lose out on an appearance in the final. Some of the prominent members of the Argentina team who went on to star in Mexico two years on were goalkeeper Nery Pumpido, defender Oscar Garre and midfielder Ricardo Giusti, not to forget coach Carlos Bilardo.
The response
Argentina's first goal of the 1984 Nehru Cup was scored by a 21-year-old attacking midfielder from Independiente called Jorge Burruchaga. He would go on to score an 84th-minute winner for Diego Maradona's Argentina in a pulsating World Cup final at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City in 1986.
Diego Forlan (August 2010)
The occasion
Diego Forlan, the winner of the Golden Ball at the 2010 World Cup and whose five goals inspired Uruguay to go all the way to semi-finals, came to Kolkata a few days after the tournament in South Africa to launch a football-based reality show.
What happened?
More than 40,000 fans gathered at the Salt Lake Stadium, as Forlan kicked off an exhibition game between Mohun Bagan and an International XI, which had been coached in the lead-up to the date by 1994 World Cup winner Branco of Brazil. While Forlan didn't play himself, he did take to the pitch and address the crowd, including a few words in Bangla.
The response
Forlan would be back for more of India six years later, signing up as a marquee player for Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC. He would take them to the playoffs for the first time in three years, scoring the first hat-trick of the season as well.
Pau Gasol (August 2010)
The occasion
One of the first active NBA stars to visit India was Pau Gasol, the Spaniard who had clocked up the most rebounds and the maximum minutes per game in the NBA Finals in June that year, as his Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics to pick up their 11th title.
What happened?
Gasol visited schools and colleges, conducting basketball clinics and media interactions across Mumbai and Delhi, before putting in a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra.
The response
Gasol was the second major star to have visited India after Dwight Howard - who was then with Orlando Magic - but Gasol was the first reigning champion to do so. He brought the Larry O'Brien Trophy and showcased it everywhere, and the interest in the NBA among Indians, as well as the number of visits by big names in the sport to the country, have been on an upswing ever since.
Lionel Messi (September 2011)
The occasion
Lionel Messi had already picked up five La Liga crowns and three UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona, to go alongside two Ballon D'or wins, when he led Argentina out in their international friendly against Venezuela at the Salt Lake Stadium.
What happened?
The match itself was forgettable, as was reportedly the organisation, what with delayed arrival of the Venezuelan kits, the wrong anthem being announced at the start of the game, and a power cut during the post-match press conference.
However, Messi took the corner that gave Nicolas Otamendi his first international goal and Argentina a 1-0 victory in Alejandro Sabella's first match in charge. It was the same coach-captain combination that took them to the World Cup final three years later in Brazil.
The response
The match, which was also Messi's first as captain, paved the way for a good working relationship with Sabella over the following three years. Sabella compared Messi's ability from set-pieces to David Beckham's, and four days later, he led Argentina to a comfortable 3-1 win over a full-strength Nigerian team in Dhaka. There were still no Messi goals, though Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria more than made up the numbers.
Usain Bolt (September 2014)
The occasion
In 2014, Usain Bolt was already one of the most successful sprinters in the history of track and field, confirming his status as a great by successfully defending his 100m-200m sprint double at the London Olympics in 2012, and adding a 4X100m relay gold in a world record time with Jamaica to his kitty. He came to Bangalore in September 2014 to promote his sportswear brand, which he endorsed with Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh.
What happened?
Bolt, who has often talked about his fondness for cricket, faced up to Yuvraj in an exhibition match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and clobbered a 19-ball 45 to win bragging rights in the four-overs-per-side cricket contest between the two stars.
The response
The 100m sprint between the two sportsmen saw an inversion of the results, with Yuvraj jokingly pushing Bolt aside to avenge the cricket defeat. A bowl-out between the two resulted in a tie, but Bolt actually surpassed Yuvraj in the six-hitting contest, thus having the better day out in the Bangalore sun.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (December 2015)
The occasion
Roger Federer had already featured in the Indian franchise of Mahesh Bhupathi's International Premier Tennis League (ITPL) in its inaugural season in 2014, even facing up to film actor Aamir Khan at the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium that December.
A year on, Federer had moved on to the UAE franchise, and his place in the Indian team was taken by his biggest rival Rafael Nadal. When the two teams met in Delhi, the 15,000-capacity stadium had very few spaces left.
What happened?
Nadal and Federer first met in the men's doubles, where Rohan Bopanna and Nadal prevailed over Federer and his partner Marin Cilic. The singles -- like most of the matches played in a single-set format in the event which exhorted fans to 'break the code' in its tagline -- was a tight affair, with Nadal winning 6-5 after battling Federer for 38 minutes.
The response
The ITPL had its third season in 2016, though many of the top names of world tennis opted out, with organiser and former men's doubles World No.1 Bhupathi admitting that that the ticket sales had been "upsetting and embarrassing" to ESPN. The future of the league is unclear at this stage, but bringing together arguably two of the greatest players of all time was perhaps the high point of the 2015 season.