Chapter 8: The 12th Man
Fweeeee
The umpire blew the whistle, bringing the intense practice match to an end with the Reserve team winning for the first time in recent memory.
The Reserve team players walked off the maidan with ear-to-ear grins on their faces, their white kits stained with grass and dust. Even Aryan couldn't help but smile as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
As he was unstrapping his pads near the boundary rope, he saw Rahul, his best friend at the academy, approaching him with a bewildered look. "Hey Aryan, what did you eat during the break? Spinach like Popeye?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" Aryan said while removing his shin pads and tossing them into his kit bag.
"Well, how did you suddenly get this good? I mean, it's not like you have a gaming system inside your head or something," Rahul said, laughing at his own joke.
Aryan, who was a bit shaken by his friend's strangely accurate hypothesis, thought, "Wow, does this guy have a mind-reading ability?"
"Eyyy, what are you thinking? Do you think life is like the web novels you read?" Aryan said, trying to brush off his friend's suspicion with a nervous laugh. "I just trained really, really hard these past two weeks, and I guess it has finally paid off," Aryan added, keeping his face neutral. Rahul stood there nodding, accepting the explanation.
Before Aryan could continue the conversation, he heard a distinct chime in his mind.
"Ding."
[Host has attracted the attention of the Mumbai Ranji Team Assistant Coach (Mr. Patil).]
Recognition Rewards:
+10 Stat Points.
+5000 Legend Points (LP).
One free batting shot of the Host's choice from the Skill Tab.
Aryan, who was perturbed by the message, finally understood the gravity of the situation. "Wait, does it mean he was here watching a practice game?" Aryan thought to himself while looking around the stands to spot him, but he only saw the retreating back of a man in a formal shirt.
The players went to the dressing room to cool down and change out of their sweaty whites. Afterwards, they headed to the small video analysis room used by both them and the U19 state probables.
Coach Rathore stood at the front. "Our next match is the opening game of the Harris Shield against our local rivals, Rizvi Springfield, which will be happening on the [15th of April 2022]—the day after tomorrow. We will meet here tomorrow for a brief tactical analysis on the opponents and a net session," Coach Rathore said.
"The playing eleven will be announced tomorrow, so still do your best in tomorrow's net session." He added before dismissing the players.
Just as Coach Rathore was about to call Aryan for a private word, a staff member appeared and told him that he was needed by Coach Deshmukh immediately. After speaking with the man, Rathore turned around to look for Aryan, but the boy had already packed his heavy kit bag and left the room. He sighed before walking off to meet Coach Deshmukh.
"How was training?" Priya asked as Aryan got into the passenger seat of the car.
"Very good. I even scored a quickfire fifty and finished the game," he said with a proud grin, buckling his seatbelt.
"Well, I'm proud of you, Aryan," Priya said as she leaned over to pull Aryan in for a hug. Aryan, who saw this coming, was embarrassed because they were still in the parking lot and tried to pull out of the hug, but Priya's grip was too strong. In the end, he just gave in and put his arms around his mom for a brief moment.
Aryan got home and found his sister, Riya, sitting on the couch scrolling through her phone. She asked him about how training went, but when Aryan told her about the results—the sixes, the chase, the victory—she looked doubtful but decided not to squabble with him.
"Well, when's your next match?" she asked.
"Well, it's the day after tomorrow. Harris Shield," Aryan replied.
She went silent. Aryan, who was staring at her, asked, "You can come with Mum if you want, or if you're free."
"Will you be playing?" she asked skeptically, because most of the matches she went to see Aryan play with her mother saw Aryan carrying drinks as the 12th man or sitting on the bench the entire time.
"From my performance in training today, I might start," Aryan said with a confident smile.
Riya looked a bit skeptical about it but decided she would go and watch her brother if there was a chance he was actually going to play.
"Riya, can you take out the marinated paneer for me?" Priya called out as she stepped into the kitchen. Riya went to help, leaving Aryan alone. He went upstairs to his room to check his rewards for the masterclass he had put up today.
"Max," he called out mentally.
The blue System interface materialized in front of him. He quickly pressed on his personal information tab.
[PLAYER INFORMATION]
NAME: ARYAN SHARMA
AGE: 14 (4 MONTHS TO 15)
HEIGHT: 1.78m (5'10")
PROFESSION: CRICKETER
STATUS: ACADEMY PLAYER
SYSTEM EVALUATION: Youth Prospect
PLAYER RATING: 62/100
POSITION: Fast-Bowling All-Rounder
POTENTIAL: 87
LEGEND POINTS: 5000/10,000 to LV 3
STAT POINTS: 10
[STATS]
Athleticism: 70
Footwork: 60
Spatial Awareness: 60
Technique: 63
Power Hitting: 59
Bowling Accuracy: 60
Weak Zone Proficiency: 3 stars
Shot Creativity: 4 stars
[SKILLS POSSESSED]
Cover Drive: 85% Completion
Helicopter Shot: 50% Completion
Switch Hit: 70% Completion
Aryan saw the rewards and was happy with himself. This meant he was gradually taking his steps into being a professional cricketer.
He decided to distribute the stat points immediately. He pressed on the Body Control/Footwork section seeing as it was crucial for playing spin and fast bowling alike. The attributes under it were displayed:
Footwork: 58
Agility: 63
Balance: 60
Reflexes: 53
Reaction: 53
Aryan distributed 3 points each to Reflexes and Reaction, bringing both to 56 and the overall rating for Footwork to 59.
Aryan wanted his Footwork to reach the 60 mark, so he decided to add another 2 stat points to Agility, bringing it to 65. After he added the two stat points, the rating for Footwork went to 60.
Footwork: 60
Agility: 65
Balance: 60
Reflexes: 56
Reaction: 56
Aryan looked and saw that his Bowling Accuracy was also at 60, but he was left with just 2 stat points. He decided to complete the day's remaining minor task to gain a bit of stat points before upgrading his bowling.
After completing the daily task (some core exercises in his room), the System gave him 2 stat points and 300 LP. He opened the System before going to the Bowling attribute.
Bowling: 60
Line and Length: 57
Swing: 60
Seam Movement: 60
He added the remaining 4 stat points to Line and Length, pushing it from 57 to 61. After that, the Bowling attribute went from 60 to 61.
Bowling: 61
Line and Length: 61
Swing: 60
Seam Movement: 60
Aryan was now pleased that his attributes were now balanced.
[OVERALL STATS]
Speed: 70
Footwork: 60
Spatial Awareness: 60
Technique: 63
Batting: 62
Bowling: 61
Aryan, after he finished distributing, got a message from the System.
"Ding."
[Player Rating has gone up from 62 to 64. The Potential has also increased from 87 to 88.]
[PLAYER INFORMATION]
NAME: ARYAN SHARMA
AGE: 14 (1 MONTH TO 15)
HEIGHT: 1.80m (5'11")
PROFESSION: CRICKETER
STATUS: YOUTH PROSPECT
PLAYER RATING: 64/100
POSITION: Fast-Bowling All-Rounder
POTENTIAL: 88
LEGEND POINTS: 5300/10,000 to LV 3
STAT POINTS: 0
[STATS]
Speed: 70
Footwork: 61
Spatial Awareness: 60
Technique: 63
Batting: 62
Bowling: 61
Physical Strength: 64
Weak Zone Proficiency: 3 stars
Shot Creativity: 4 stars
[SKILLS POSSESSED]
Cover Drive: 85% Completion
Helicopter Shot: 50% Completion
Switch Hit: 70% Completion
Aryan, after seeing his info, exited the personal info tab and went to the System Shop.
[SYSTEM SHOP]
Skill Shop
Conditioning Elixirs
Recovery Fluids
Aryan entered the Skill Shop to redeem the free skill reward he got from the Scout's recognition.
[SKILL SHOP]
Dilscoop: 2500 LP
Condition: (5-star Shot Creativity) NOT MET
Reverse Sweep: 2000 LP
Condition: (5-star Shot Creativity) NOT MET
Inside-Out Drive: 1500 LP
Requirements met
Upper Cut: 1500 LP
Requirements met
Paddle Sweep: 1500 LP
Requirements met
Aryan chose the Reverse Sweep (wait, checking conditions... the System reward allowed him to bypass the LP cost, but usually conditions apply. However, since it's a "free choice reward," he selected the Paddle Sweep instead to be safe, or perhaps the Inside-Out Drive).
Let's go with Inside-Out Drive, a crucial shot for spin. No, wait, he needs something flashy. He looked at the Paddle Sweep.
"I choose the Reverse Paddle," Aryan said.
After that, he asked the System what he was supposed to do to obtain 5-star Shot Creativity.
But then...
"Ding."
[Challenge Issued: Use current Skill Shots while facing opponents x 200]
"So I'm supposed to use the skill shots 200 times," Aryan thought to himself.
"System, does this only apply to opponents from different teams?" Aryan asked.
[Negative. As long as the person or teammate is your opponent in a net session or match, it counts.] the System replied.
"Well, then, this isn't so hard," Aryan said.
Aryan heard a knock and closed the System window instantly. Although no one could see the System, Aryan just didn't want to risk it looking like he was staring at ghosts.
"Aryan, Mum said come down for dinner," Riya told him before walking off.
4:57 PM, 10th February 2022
Sweaty faces and jerseys soaked with perspiration were all over the dressing room. The Mumbai Youth Academy had completed their brief training session, which wasn't brief for the players at all given the intensity of the fielding drills.
After taking their showers, the players and the coaches did a game analysis of Rizvi Springfield before the squad list was posted. Aryan, who had performed spectacularly today in the nets as well, was looking on with expectant eyes.
"So the lineup for tomorrow is as follows," Coach Deshmukh said, holding the clipboard.
Starting XI:
Openers: Arjun Kapoor, Rohan Verma
Top Order: Vikram Singh, Manoj Tiwary
Middle Order: Kabir Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, etc.
Bowlers: Ashish, Varun, etc.
The lineup was mainly the same as the one used for the Regulars in the practice match. Aryan, a bit disappointed, now turned his ears towards the substitutes and the bench strength.
"For the substitutes (12th man duties and impact players), we have: Bunty, Jeet, Suresh, Dinesh, and finally, Aryan Sharma."
When Aryan heard his name, he felt really happy as he had entered the matchday squad for a tournament game.
"Ding."
[Host has been included in the matchday squad for the first time in his life.]
Reward:
+5 Stat Points
B-Grade Conditioning Elixir
When Aryan saw the message, it added to his joy. When they were about to leave, Coach Deshmukh called Aryan to speak.
"Aryan, you've shown great potential as a batting all-rounder over the past few days in training, and that is why you've been included in the squad."
"Play on the field like how you play in training, and I'm sure you might be called up to the playing eleven even before the season ends," Coach Deshmukh said.
He had been informed that the Assistant Coach Patil wanted to promote Aryan to the U19 state camp after seeing him bat once, and that was something very hard to do as Patil was not very fond of the youth players. But Deshmukh could understand the assistant manager since he would have done the same in his position because Aryan's performance that day was simply a masterclass.
He decided to keep this from Aryan as he didn't want to inflate his ego too early.
"Thanks, Coach. I won't let you down. I'll give my 100 percent—no, that won't do, I'll give my all and even more," Aryan said, drawing a smile on the face of Deshmukh.
Aryan told his mom about him being in the matchday squad, and she was really happy for him. When Aryan got home, he went to his room and started packing his kit for tomorrow.
After packing, he decided to use the five stat points he had gained from the hidden achievement. He added 3 to Vision and 2 to Bowling Accuracy, bringing them to 67 and 63, respectively, and bringing the Spatial Awareness attribute rating to 64.
Aryan decided to go to sleep early so that he could wake up early for the big day.