The tournament was over. The Red House had won. But no one was clapping. No one was celebrating. Not even the Red House players felt the win was deserved. Only Siddarth stood there smiling, happy that he had won the tournament, and now would become the school captain. Little did he know, Coach Shastri had other plans.
It was two days after the tournament. The call was still being debated, and people all throughout the city were talking about it. Even Daijiworld had wrote an article on it. Ali, meanwhile was sitting alone in his room, thinking about what happened. Hari. The boundary. If he had not sent Chirag's previous ball in no man's land. The system, flashed in front of him.
[MISSION FAILED]
Kings of Ashwandeep
Goal: Win the Ashwandeep Four Houses Tournament.
A knock was heard on the door.
"Come in."
Zainab burst in, with a burger in one hand and French fries in the other. "Why are you sulking here? You won the tournament!"
"I'm in the Green House, not the Red House, mom. I lost, I didn't win." Said Ali.
"Green House, Red House, I don't care about that nonsense! I saw what happened! Just because they cheated doesn't mean they won! I saw your resolve, and your will to win, in a fair manner, and that's more than enough!" Zainab scolded, wanting to improve Ali's mood. She put the food aside, and then hugged her son.
Ali cried slightly. I will make sure you will always remain alive, mom. Not even that machine can stop me. He got up, took his bat and ball. After that he began walking towards the park for his daily practice.
Meanwhile, Coach Shastri walked into Karan's office. Sahwit too, was sitting there, helping Karan with the paperwork. His eyes darted to the paper in Shastri's hand. I thought we had decided the school team earlier, why is he here?
"Principal sir, the previous list was wrong, I have changed my mind." Said Shastri.
"Oh, that's fine. As long as it isn't one hour after the reveal. If you changed it at that time, then I would have to deal with a bunch of angry munchkins." Karan laughed.
The room was silent, and the fan kept whirring. Neither Sahwit nor Shastri laughed at Karan's sudden joke. Both of them just looked at each other.
"Anyways sir, I have to go home now." Shastri started walking away, when Karan suddenly stopped him.
"I heard what happened in the final. One of the local papers even had done an article on it. Sahwit and Shastri, explain yourselves." Karan's eyes were looking at them, not in anger, but in disappointment.
"Sir, the umpire saw the catch." Sahwit calmly said, with a poker face. He then continued, "It was fairly caught. The commotion and noise was most likely a foul play tactic by some other school's administration to defame us."
"Don't try to fool me, Sahwit. I have been swarmed with complaint after complaint, and parents who were near the line witnessing your son give a signal to the umpire. Now tell me the truth." Karan commanded.
"I didn't do anything, sir. Even the linesman who was there will corroborate my statement!" Sahwit protested.
"He will support you because, he is under your influence. It was a small tournament, just done for the selection of our school's team. Why did you try to influence it?" Karan asked Sahwit, with his gaze fixed onto him.
"I didn't influence the tournament in any way, sir, I honestly don't know what you are talking about!" Sahwit tried his best to trick Karan, but Karan wasn't someone who could easily be fooled.
"It's your son, isn't it? Don't worry, I won't let him become the captain. If he wants to become the captain, he will have to show his worth through his performance and leadership, not through his relations. I want a proper leader, not a micromanager." Karan stated.
"Sahwit, you can leave. The fund distribution can be done later. I want to speak with Shastri in private." Karan ordered Sahwit.
Sahwit walked slowly, with slouched shoulders. An unusual sight for someone as confident as him.
That Shastri…What is he doing this for?
The door closed, with a loud thump. "Well done. Not many face Sahwit and stay with their job intact." Karan then continued, "What made you do this?"
"Nothing really sir. I just felt it was the right thing to do." Shastri calmly said.
Ali sat in the classroom, dejectedly eating the food he had brought from home. Suddenly, Suraj called him. "Dude, the school team has been posted on the board! You made it in!"
"What? You aren't lying to me, right?" Ali questioned Suraj, but walked to the notice board.
Ashwandeep School Cricket Team Representatives
Starters:
Top Order:
Manish Shetty (C)
Samuel Varghese
Ali Zaidi (Part Time Spin)
Middle Order:
Shrivastav Shan (VC)
Zayed Khan (WK)
Siddarth Reddy (Part Time Pace)
Bowlers:
Chirag Bhangra (Pace)
Nakul Chowdary (Pace)
Anirudh Malhotra (Pace)
Suraj Shetty (Spin)
Chinnar Rai (Spin)
Ali couldn't believe it. A team that actually had a good captain. And a proper team, not a group of nepo babies. Maybe beating Excellence PU college would be possible. Not just that, we could even win the district tournament!
Meanwhile, Siddarth was scowling after seeing the list, Why am I not the captain? Why is that meathead Manish the captain and not me? He decided to ask his dad later. For now, he would have to stay quiet. When he would get a chance, he must prove the coaches wrong. That captaincy, no, Ali's success had to be his!
TO BE CONTINUED
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