Chapter 13: Recognition
Coach Kulkarni decided to split the Probables and the Challengers (Reserves) into two squads for a 20-over simulation match. Coach Kulkarni saw that after splitting them, there would still be a few players left over as the addition of Aryan had brought the squad number to an awkward figure.
He decided to give each team 3 players as impact substitutes who could be rotated in during specific over scenarios.
"Ok, gather around and look at the lineup for the Probables XI and the Challengers XI."
Aryan walked over to the whiteboard to look at the team sheets pinned there.
{Probables XI - Blue Caps}
Format: T20 Simulation
Openers: Yashasvi Jaiswal (Guest/Senior), Divyansh Saxena
Top Order: Armaan Jaffer, Sarfaraz Khan (U23 Guest)
Middle Order: Suved Parkar, Hardik Tamore (WK)
All-Rounders: Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian
Spinners: Atharva Ankolekar
Pacers: Tushar Deshpande, Minad Manjrekar
Subs: Arjun Tendulkar, Simpson, Varun Lavande
(Note: Using recognizable Mumbai circuit names for flavor)
Aryan, after looking at the starting team and their star-studded substitutes, decided to look at the Challengers team because his name would probably be in their substitutes list.
{Challengers XI - Red Caps}
Format: T20 Simulation
Openers: Rohan Verma, Bunty Singh
Top Order: Aryan Sharma, Kabir Khan
Middle Order: Jeet Yadav, Suresh Gill, Dinesh Karthik (namesake)
All-Rounders: Yash Salunkhe
Bowlers: Kike Reyes (Spin), Nico Gulaz (Pace), Vic Abril (Pace)
Subs: Ian Riggs, Mark Barai, Juan Barsi
Aryan was surprised to see his name on the Challengers' starting list at the pivotal Number 3 position after he saw it. He thought he would have to start from the bench and maybe carry drinks, but that wasn't the case.
"Okay, so I guess by now you should know which teams you belong to. Now, those starting the match should go onto the pitch, and the subs should sit in the dugout."
After saying this, Coach Kulkarni took a counter and a whistle from his pocket to officiate the training match.
Unbeknownst to the players, the Mumbai State Head Coach, Amol Muzumdar (fictionalized representation based on Coach Moreno role), had arrived at the BKC grounds and was watching the match which was about to start from the balcony of the pavilion. Coach Kulkarni, after meeting eyes with the Head Coach, nodded and decided to start the match with the Challengers batting first.
The Challengers' opener took guard. The first over was hostile pace. The opener nicked a single, bringing Aryan to the non-striker's end as he had walked in early due to a simulated "wickets lost" scenario.
Aryan faced his first ball. He took a nervous first stance. Taking it easy, he defended the ball with a straight bat back to the bowler, respecting the good length.
The Challengers team, using quick singles and rotating the strike, kept the scoreboard ticking against the Probables who had pressed high up with aggressive field placements.
The opener of the Challengers team, Rohan Verma, got the strike and played a dot ball. Then another. Getting the ball, Rohan looked for gaps to pierce but couldn't find one as the Probables' fielders were sharp, cutting off angles inside the circle.
Aryan saw that his teammate was in a bit of a predicament. Aryan tapped the pitch and called for a quick single, having spotted a hesitation in the mid-on fielder.
Rohan, after seeing Aryan who was halfway down the pitch, still decided to send him back and hold onto the strike because of his animosity for Aryan—the new kid who stole the spotlight.
"Look at this bastard, does he think I'm going to run for him?" thought Rohan, who decided to try and hit a big shot to release pressure instead.
Unfortunately, he was beaten cleanly by the sheer pace of the Probables' fast bowler. The ball rapped him on the pads.
"Howzat!"
The umpire raised his finger. LBW. Rohan had wasted balls and lost his wicket.
The Probables' bowler took the ball and looked up, smiling. The new batsman came in. The bowler sent a high bouncer immediately towards the new batsman, who fended it awkwardly.
The Probables went forward with their aggression. Seeing that the new batsman was weak against short balls, the bowler pitched it up next. The striker, trying to drive, edged it to the slips.
Another wicket down. The Challengers were crumbling.
After taking the wicket, the bowler did a ridiculous celebration to rub salt in the wound. Even though it was just a training match, losing wickets in a heap was still demoralizing.
The players of the Challengers team all turned their attention to Rohan Verma, who was walking back, with some eyeballing him for denying the single earlier which caused the pressure buildup.
Rohan, who couldn't stand the stares, slowly looked down in defeat, throwing his gloves onto the bench.
"Rohan, keep playing selfishly like that and you're out of the squad for the next zonal match," the Head Coach, who was quiet and observing the match from the stands, finally spoke up loudly after witnessing Rohan's fault in the team losing momentum.
He already knew Rohan was an egoist, but the Head Coach didn't talk about it much because of his talent. But now even he was getting fed up.
"Why dig your own grave?" Aryan thought, who was leaning on his bat at the non-striker's end, staring at Rohan.
The match restarted. A new partner, Kabir, joined Aryan. Kabir tapped the pitch and passed the strike to Aryan.
Kabir, knowing that the pressure was high, took a single and passed the strike back to Aryan on the next ball.
Aryan trapped the ball with a soft defense and looked for gaps. Aryan, with his great vision, picked out the gap at deep mid-wicket.
With a wristy flick, he sent the ball racing towards the boundary, but it was cut off. Aryan quickly called for two, sprinting to support the run rate.
His partner was now Rohan—wait, no, Rohan was out. The partner was Yash, the right-winger equivalent—a fast runner. This partner was none other than Yash, who had nothing going for him aside from his speed and explosiveness between the wickets.