Chapter 11: Promotion
Priya dropped Aryan off at the Academy gates a day after the match against Rizvi Springfield. Aryan stood at the entrance for a while, adjusting his kit bag on his shoulder. His thoughts were scrambled; he didn't understand what he had done to warrant a sudden summons to the head office, as he had only played a practice match and just one tournament match for the team.
Aryan walked in, past the nets, before heading to Coach Deshmukh's cabin.
Knock knock knock
"Come in," a voice which belonged to Coach Deshmukh answered from the inside.
Aryan opened the door and entered. "Close the door behind you," Coach Deshmukh ordered. He was sitting behind a desk cluttered with scorecards and selection papers scattered here and there.
There was a man in a sharp suit sitting in the corner, whom Aryan didn't seem to notice at first until he spoke, "Hello, Aryan."
"Yo, what the fu—" Aryan said, cutting short the swear word just in time. "He should try being a spin bowler with that stealth," Aryan thought.
Aryan sat down, and the man asked if he knew about the promotion, to which he replied, "Yes."
"We usually don't go through this formal process for a promotion within the academy, but the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) sees you as a very precious asset, so we wanted to discuss a few things," the guy, who was Mr. Patil from the state selection committee, said.
"Okay, so what do you want to talk about?" Aryan asked, placing his hands on his lap.
"Well, from your recent match and net performances, the Head Coach, who also handles the U19 state side, deemed you fit to be promoted to the U19 Probables camp. But to ensure that you don't get snatched from us by Railways, Services, or another state association, we decided to offer you a Scholarship Retention Contract until you turn 18. Of course, the terms can be amended, such as the stipend, if the Association deems your performance worthy," Mr. Patil elaborated.
"The Association will set targets like runs scored and wickets taken that you should meet to have your stipend improved, but for now, the club would like to offer a yearly remuneration of ₹3,00,000 (3 Lakhs)." Mr. Patil added.
"Wow, the Association is pulling out all the stops for him. On average, a kid under the age of 16 usually gets a scholarship of maybe 1 Lakh at most. Well, from the way he plays, if he carries it over to the U19s and eventually the Ranji Trophy team, I'd say it will be a steal for Mumbai," this was what Deshmukh thought as he listened to the negotiations.
Aryan thought for a while before speaking.
"I might not know a lot about cricket administration negotiations, but I know there's something called a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) and a transfer lock-in, and I want to know the terms put on me."
"For now, the Association decided to put your transfer fee clause at ₹50 Lakhs, and any state or franchise that offers this amount or more has the opportunity to open negotiations for your transfer," Mr. Patil said.
"Isn't that a bit too much for a 14-year-old?" Coach Deshmukh asked, surprised by the valuation.
"Well, the Association values Aryan at least that much," Mr. Patil commented smoothly.
"Is there any leeway for that or is it fixed? I mean, it is a negotiation after all," Coach Deshmukh spoke up, trying to look out for his student.
"And how much leeway are you suggesting?" Mr. Patil asked.
"Not more than ₹35 Lakhs for the transfer clause," Deshmukh said.
"Done," Mr. Patil said with haste, which made Deshmukh think he should have lowered it a bit more.
"And as for the remuneration, I think it should go up to ₹3.5 Lakhs a year," Deshmukh stated firmly.
Mr. Patil thought for a while before accepting it. "We will sign an NDA, and this contract will be kept under wraps for now," Mr. Patil said before picking up the contract and sliding it to Deshmukh.
"The Association also wants at least 300 runs and 15 wickets from Aryan after settling in at the U19s side."
"Hey, isn't that a bit too much?" Deshmukh asked.
"This is a goal set for him if he wants to renegotiate a stipend increase or make any contract amendments," Mr. Patil said.
Deshmukh looked at Aryan, who nodded for him to continue. He looked through the papers and saw that there was nothing harmful in the contract. After reading, he looked at Aryan and asked if he wanted to sign it.
"Well, my mum told you to oversee it because she knows nothing about these legal things, so if it's good with you, then it's probably okay," Aryan said.
Coach Deshmukh nodded before passing the paper and a pen for Aryan to sign. Aryan signed his name in cursive and handed the contract back to Mr. Patil, who smiled.
"We wish you a bright future with Mumbai Cricket," Mr. Patil said as he collected the papers and opened the door to leave.
After he left, Coach Deshmukh spoke.
"Well, congratulations. You have been promoted to the U19 State Probables. From today onwards, you will no longer be training with us at the academy," Coach Deshmukh said with a somewhat sad face.
"Uh, Coach, why are you pretending like you won't see me anymore? Aren't you the assistant coach for the U19 team as well?" Aryan said while looking at Coach Deshmukh, who laughed after hearing what Aryan said.
"Well, the U19s will be training at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) tomorrow, so go home and have a bit of rest for tomorrow so you can join that session," Coach Deshmukh said.
"Okay, Coach," Aryan said. He stood up and exited the door before going to pick his kit bag from the dressing room. Fortunately, no one was there as all the players were out on the maidan for fielding drills.
Aryan, who had already called Priya, stood by the entrance waiting for her and got inside the car when she arrived a few minutes after the call.
After training, the academy players went inside the dressing room to change. As they were talking, Rahul spotted a piece of paper pinned to the notice board and walked over to read what was on it.
A few seconds later, "No F-ing way," he said in a loud voice, bringing the attention of the players to himself.
"Aryan got promoted to the U19 State Camp."
"What rubbish are you talking?"
"Eyy, how could that happen?"
"Let me see," Joseph pushed Rahul, who was being assaulted by a barrage of questions.
"It's really true."
"Not you too, Joseph," the players said after Joseph confirmed it.
"See for yourself," Joseph said as he took the paper from the board and showed it around.
"But how? He only played one match. Although I admit he's very good, isn't this rushed?" a player asked.
Arjun Kapoor smiled after hearing that the news was real. "I'll be there soon," he thought with conviction.
"Ahem, I see you've seen it, but let me say, Aryan has been promoted to the U19s and from today he will no longer be with us," Coach Deshmukh announced, stepping into the room.
"I hope you take this opportunity to train very hard and play well as it might be you the very next time."
Coach Deshmukh, after saying this, left the players to resolve themselves. Most of the players couldn't believe it, but putting it aside and determined, some decided to head back to the nets for extra training. Coach Deshmukh, who saw this through the window, was very happy.
After they reached home, Aryan sat his mom and sister down and told them about the offer.
"Really, Aryan? You're gonna get paid?" Priya said with a bit of surprise as she at least knew that players under 16 didn't get that much remuneration, but her dear son was getting a salary of ₹3.5 Lakhs yearly.
Aryan talked a bit more with his mom and sister about his career because Aryan was going to be a sophomore in high school the coming semester.
"It'll be hard, but I'll have to juggle school with matches," Aryan said with a smile.
"Wow, I feel so sorry for you," Riya said sarcastically. She obviously knew that Aryan was happy about it as he was finally on the road to becoming a professional cricketer.
They talked a bit more before eating dinner. After dinner, Aryan went to his room. He went on his phone for a while before finally deciding to go to bed.
After school, Priya picked Aryan up and drove him to the BKC grounds.
"Have fun, Aryan," Priya said while driving away.
"Let's make a good impression today," Aryan said to himself.
As he was walking to the U19 nets, he met a brown-haired boy of about the same height as him.
"Hey, the U16s and below are over there," he said while pointing to the place where the U16s were training, with a smug expression. After the comment, he left towards the area where the U19s train.