Chapter 12: Promotion[2]
"Why'd he assume that I'm in the U16s?" Aryan said while shaking his head.
When he got there, he saw that most of the players were already stretching on the outfield. On his way to the dressing room to change, he met Coach Kulkarni, whom he had seen before in the practice match, who told him to hurry as training was about to begin soon.
Aryan quickly sped into the dressing room before changing into the new training kit they had given him—the official Mumbai U19 practice whites. After changing, he followed Coach Kulkarni to the training pitch.
As the players saw Kulkarni coming, they stopped chatting and seemed to focus on the person behind him. They were surprised to see another player; albeit tall with a fair muscular build, his face seemed incredibly young.
"Ok people, gather round," Kulkarni said as the players followed and grouped together.
"His name is Aryan Sharma, and he will be with you guys from today onwards."
Murmurs started as the players kept talking among themselves.
"Aryan here plays as a Fast-Bowling All-Rounder and will be replacing the injured all-rounder, Prithvi, who's out with a fracture."
"He's the youngest of you all, so show him around and help him get used to how things are done here," Kulkarni said.
Rohan, the player who told Aryan to go to the U16s, was surprised that the kid he dismissed was actually joining them.
"Okay, enough with the pleasantries, let's get the fitness drills started," Kulkarni said as the players slowly dispersed.
Two players approached Aryan after the coach told them to disperse. The shortest of them spoke, "Hi, I'm Kabir and this is Yash," he said pointing to the dark-haired youth beside him.
"Hi," Aryan replied.
"Say, are you Kashmiri or Himachali?" Yash asked.
"Neither, I'm from Mumbai, although my grandmother was from Himachal, so I guess you could say that's where I get it from," replied Aryan.
"Are those eyes natural?" Kabir was the next to ask after seeing Aryan's unusually hazel-green eyes, which were rare.
"Yeah, was born with it," Aryan replied.
"Ah, Coach said you're young, how old are you by the way?" Kabir asked again.
Aryan felt that they were asking too many questions but decided to answer it.
"I'm 14 years old."
"Wait, 14?" Kabir shouted, drawing the attention of a few players around.
"Wait, did he just say that guy's 14?"
"How is he here?"
"Is he that good to be here at that age?"
The players started talking a bit after hearing Aryan's age.
"Anyways, I and Yash were promoted from the U16s a few weeks ago," Kabir said, earning a nod from Aryan. Coach Kulkarni signaled the players to warm up.
After a few stretches here and there, the speed drill—the 50-meter dash—was the first to be started. The players got in pairs, and Aryan was paired with a fast bowler known for his speed.
"Damn, getting paired with Vikram on your first day isn't exactly welcoming," one player whispered.
Some of the players started laughing at the matchup and some started betting on it.
"₹500 that the kid loses by at least 2 seconds in the 50-meter dash," one player said.
"Make it 3 seconds for me," another said. The players started betting on it, and it seemed they all bet in favor of Vikram.
"I bet ₹1000 that Aryan actually wins," Kabir said, earning a decent amount of stares from the other players.
"Well, easy money," the players said.
When it got to Aryan and Vikram's turn, they both got on the starting line, and Aryan was actually smiling. This was because he had used the snooping tool and found out that Vikram only possessed a 62 overall rating and a Running Speed rating of 65. Compared to Aryan's Running Speed rating of 70, Aryan was indeed faster.
Coach Kulkarni stood nearby watching this encounter. The fitness trainer blew the whistle.
Aryan, after hearing the whistle, just zoomed ahead of Vikram, finishing the fifty-meter dash in 6.47 seconds while Vikram managed to finish in 7.52 seconds.
The other players were shocked. How the heck did Vikram lose, were the words that were coming out of the mouths of the players.
"Well, I guess some of you owe me money," Kabir said.
Aryan didn't halt and carried his performance over to the other drills. Placing first or second in most of the drills involving bowling accuracy, fielding throws, catching, and net batting.
"How is he so good in the drills?" some of the players started saying.
"Being good in drills doesn't necessarily mean he's good in a match," Rohan, the guy who didn't seem to like Aryan, spoke out. "Well, that's also true."
"Yeah." The players started talking amongst themselves.
"Okay boys, time for a net simulation match," Coach Kulkarni spoke out after they finished cooling down. Some of the players were happy that they got a chance to see what the new kid could do.
"Ding."
[Host has been given a challenge by the System.]
[Show Your Worth.]
{Description: Some of your teammates are doubtful about your abilities. Play like a true God of Cricket and prove them wrong.}
[+20 Stat Points]
[+5000 LP]
[+1 Growth Elixir]
Aryan, who was seemingly waiting for a challenge to be issued by the System, grinned at the sight of the possible rewards he could gain.
"Well, let's get this show started," Aryan said while walking towards the nets.