God of Cricket!-Chapter 39: Senior Team

Chapter 39: Senior Team

Aryan woke up the next day, feeling a slight stiffness in his shoulders the residue of the flight, not the match. He had arrived in Mumbai late last night.

He quickly completed his morning routine, which now included a rigorous 30-minute meditation session to improve his mental focus stat.

After breakfast, Priya drove him to the Wankhede Stadium. This wasn’t for an U19 match; this was for his first training session with the Mumbai Senior Team (Ranji Squad).

The security guard at the gate stopped the car initially but upon checking his clipboard and seeing ’Aryan Sharma’, he saluted and let them pass.

Aryan got out, his heart pounding a rhythm of excitement and nervousness. He walked towards the players’ dressing room.

Inside, he saw legends he had only seen on TV or from the stands. Wasim Jaffer, the run-machine of domestic cricket, was chatting with Ajit Agarkar, who had just returned from national duty. Rohit Sharma, young and talented, was laughing in the corner with Abhishek Nayar.

Aryan felt small. He felt like an imposter.

"Hey, you must be the wunderkind everyone’s talking about," a voice said. Aryan turned to see Amol Muzumdar, the stalwart of Mumbai cricket (and previous captain).

"Aryan Sharma, sir," Aryan said, extending his hand.

"Relax, kid. We don’t bite. Unless you drop a catch off my bowling," Ajit Agarkar joked, walking past them.

Coach Praveen Amre entered the room. The chatter died down instantly.

"Alright, welcome back everyone for the pre-season camp. We have a few new faces from the U19s who conquered the Cooch Behar Trophy. Aryan, stand up," Amre said.

Aryan stood up. "This is Aryan. He’s 15. Don’t go easy on him," Amre said with a smirk.

The players chuckled. The ice was broken.

The team headed out to the nets. The Wankhede pitch looked green, prepared for the upcoming season opener.

Coach Amre divided the players. Aryan was put in the ’Probables’ net, which meant he would face the senior bowlers.

"Okay Aryan, pad up. You’re facing Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni," the batting coach said.

Aryan gulped. Agarkar was known for his skiddy pace and reverse swing. Kulkarni was a relentless line-and-length bowler.

Aryan walked into the net. He marked his guard.

Agarkar ran in. He didn’t hold back. He bowled a short-of-length delivery that nipped back in sharply.

Aryan, relying on his 80 Speed and 86 Technique, quickly adjusted his backfoot defense. He blocked it solidly.

"Good defense," Agarkar muttered, walking back.

The next ball was an outswinger. Aryan left it alone.

The third ball was a bouncer. Aryan ducked.

"He’s got a good eye," Wasim Jaffer noted from the side.

After facing the pacers, Aryan faced the spinners. Ramesh Powar, the off-spinner, tossed one up.

Aryan saw the flight. He stepped out and drove it along the ground through the covers.

The session went well. Aryan didn’t dominate, but he didn’t look out of place either. He held his own against India internationals.

After batting, it was time to bowl. Aryan took the ball.

"Show us what you got, kid," Rohit Sharma said, taking the strike.

Aryan knew Rohit was a class player. He decided to test him with pace first.

Aryan ran in. He generated serious pace—clocking around 140kmph.

Rohit was surprised by the zip. He hurriedly defended the ball.

"That’s quick," Rohit acknowledged.

Aryan then tried his variations. He bowled a Leg Cutter. Rohit picked it early and played it late.

"You need to disguise that better," Rohit advised from the other end.

Aryan nodded. He then tried his Knuckleball.

He gripped the ball with his fingertips. He ran in with the same arm speed.

Rohit prepared for a fast ball.

The ball dipped sharply in the air. Rohit was deceived. He checked his drive, but the ball looped in the air—a simple catch for mid-off (if there was one).

"Whoa! What was that?" Rohit asked, genuinely surprised.

"Knuckleball, bhaiya," Aryan said.

"Impressive," Coach Amre said, writing something down on his clipboard.

After the net session, the team played a practice match: Senior XI vs Probables XI.

Aryan was in the Probables XI.

The Senior XI batted first and scored 180 in 20 overs. Aryan took 1 wicket (Wasim Jaffer) but was expensive, going for 40 runs in 4 overs as the seniors targeted him.

When it was time to chase, the Probables were struggling at 80/4.

Aryan walked in at Number 6. He was facing Zaheer Khan (who had just joined the camp).

Zaheer bowled a perfect yorker. Aryan dug it out.

Zaheer smiled. "Not bad."

Aryan decided to counter-attack. He couldn’t play defensively against Zaheer; he would get out eventually.

He used his [Gap Piercer] trait. He started manipulating the field.

He played a late cut against the spinner. He swept the fast bowler (Agarkar) for four.

The senior players were getting annoyed. A kid was toying with their field placements.

Dhawal Kulkarni tried to bounce him out. Aryan played a Hook Shot for six.

Then, he faced a medium pacer. The bowler tried to body-line him.

Aryan stepped away, making room.

He played an Inside-Out Lofted Drive over extra cover.

With the seniors rattled, Aryan continued on the pitch.

He maneuvered the strike—past the fielders. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He scored 4 more boundaries before coming into a one-on-one with the bowler who had sledged him earlier.

Aryan, with a lovely piece of footwork—a shimmy down the track—confused the bowler.

When the bowler thought Aryan would go straight, he bowled wide.

Aryan adjusted. He threw his hands at it.

He sliced the ball through point. The fielder at point dove, but the ball went through his legs—a nutmeg in cricket terms!

The fielder fell to the ground after Aryan’s placement left him in an awkward position.

All the players watching and playing laughed at the situation that had just occurred.

"What the actual Fu—" one guy tried to voice out as Aryan scooped the next ball—into the fine leg stand.

Silence rang through the pitch as they all looked at Aryan.

Aryan didn’t look at them as he had already made his statement. He walked back to his mark, ready for the next ball.

He scored 65* off 30 balls, winning the practice match for the Probable’s.

Coach Amre was beaming.

"This kid is ready," he whispered to the selectors.

The players kept looking at Aryan after he just played that wonder shot.

"What the f*** just happened?" one of the reserve bowlers voiced out, breaking the stunned silence that had enveloped the Wankhede nets.

Aryan couldn’t care less as he walked out of the net, unstrapping his gloves, never once looking back at the senior players who were staring at him with wide eyes.

Coach Praveen Amre could be seen standing on the side of the pitch with his eyes wide open, his clipboard hanging loosely by his side. He couldn’t stop grinning from the excitement he was feeling.

If, and only if, Aryan could replicate what he just did—scooping an international fast bowler like Ajit Agarkar over fine leg for six—in the Ranji Trophy, then the upcoming season was going to be a heck of a season for Mumbai.

Coach Kulkarni looked at Aryan as he stood beside the head coach, also surprised. He had seen Aryan playing wonder shots in the U19 level, but this was world-class. Even though it was just a practice simulation, Aryan had managed to play that shot against the first-choice attack of the Senior Team.

Amol Muzumdar, the veteran captain and batting stalwart of Mumbai, was also surprised at Aryan’s play. He had come to the training ground to recover from a mild hamstring strain.

But now that he had seen what the kid who was not even 16 had done in front of him, Muzumdar was itching to bat alongside him.

A physio approached Muzumdar, bringing him out of his trance, and told him that the head physio was waiting for him for his rehab session. Muzumdar nodded his head and followed the person while keeping his eyes on Aryan until he got out of sight.

Some of the main players like Wasim Jaffer and Rohit Sharma, who were watching the simulation, were all shocked by the ability and audacity of the young boy. All were watching on as the session continued to see if it was a fluke or if the player was consistently this destructive.

One of such players was Rohit Sharma, a young prodigy himself who had made his debut recently. Rohit had seen Aryan playing those deft late cuts and manipulating the field placements of the senior bowlers, and honestly, those shots were spectacular.

The support he had received from the lower order in the previous season had lacked that star effect, so the team struggled to finish games, but if Aryan’s finishing was what they had to work with, then they would have a hell of a season the following one.

He knew how hard it was for a kid to come into the senior team setup and play so well on the first day—he had been there himself—and that’s one of the reasons why what Aryan had just shown was commendable.

The session ended after a while and Aryan had played his heart out, both with the bat and the ball. He had never been this tired after a training session.

He had forced himself to play at the intensity the seniors were playing at, and although his Stamina and Physical Strength were rated 80, his body hadn’t fully adapted to the sustained pressure of first-class standards yet.

"Kulkarni," Coach Amre called. Coach Kulkarni approached after hearing his name.

(To be Continued)