GT vs RR | 10th April 2024

"CONGRATULATIONS, CAPTAIN SHUBMAN GILL!!!" Virat yelled into the phone, and Shubman, though still on the field, had to turn the speaker off.

"Bhaiya, aap bhi naaaa," (Bhaiya, you too?) Shubman whined at the usage of the 'Captain' by Virat.

"Haan toh, 'When GT is playing, don't think that, huh?' Cheekyyyyy." Virat quoted what Shubman said in the post-match presentation to a man who creates Excel sheets with imaginary data.

"Aapne woh dekha?" (You saw that?) Shubman asked him shyly.

"Jersey on shorts, white shoes with blue socks— how could anyone miss that sight?" Virat teased him.

"Wo– woh– maine bas bhul gaya tha, bhai." (That- that– I just forgot, bhai.) Shubman stuttered, completely embarrassed.

"Pura interview dekha hai maine, kya mast feel tha." (I saw the entire interview, there was such a nice feel to it.) Virat commented.

"I know; it felt great to me too." Shubman gloated.

"Woh sab sahi hai, par kya bhai, kya hogaya tereko aaj? Bohot gusse mein tha, fire hi fire?" (All that's fine, but what dude, what happened to you today? You were really angry?) Virat observed and questioned him about his extra on-field aggression today.

Shubman reminded Virat quite a lot of himself, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel about that.

"Bhaiya, woh kuch nahi tha. Woh Umpire log bohot tang kar rahe the." (Bhaiya, that was nothing. The umpires were troubling a lot.) Shubman complained.

"Haan haan, I saw that. I was so confused about what happened too." Virat agreed.

"Yeah, Bhaiya. It was so ridiculous, and I got really, really angry. I tried to hide it, but well, I was caught on the camera." Shubman grumbled.

"Hero cam pe tha na tu, so of course you got caught." (You were on the hero cam, right,) Virat continued to tease him.

"Bhaiya, WHAT?" Shubman asked, horrified, "Please don't tell me that you've been watching me on that camera."

Virat switched the call to a video call just to nod a big yes.

"God, I'm so embarrassed." Shubman groaned and threw himself on his bed dramatically.

"I wish I'd heard your voice too, that would've been hilarious." Virat grinned, feeling quite proud of himself for all the teasing.

"And if you were here, you would have said some things into the stump mic just for everyone to hear." Shubman laughed and sat up. "I couldn't do that today."

"Uske liye bohot time hai, Kaka." (There's a lot of time for that, Kaka.) Virat playfully reminded him.

"Haan, woh toh sahi hai. Aur bahot saare kaand karne hai aapke tarah." (Yeah, that's right too. There are a lot more Things to do like you.)

"I'm sure you'll get there soon." Virat chuckled.

"But I was so annoyed with the crowd today, Bhaiya. I might've flipped them off if I wasn't the Captain."

"You wouldn't have; you're too nice for that. Match fees bhi bachalo bhai." (Save your match fees too.) Virat giggled.

"Maybe yeah, the match fees are worth it." Shubman joined him in the laughs.

"Was it because of the chants?" Virat asked him. One thing about Virat is that he knows Everything. With the capital E, yes. The good, the bad, the neutral things, all of them— Virat always knows whatever is happening on social media, so this came as no surprise to Shubman.

"Of course it's because of the chants. I'm used to it so I didn't really get distracted but still they were quite frustrating."

"Yeah, I get it, Shubi. And I'm glad that you didn't get distracted; you were great today!" Virat gushed.

"I'm glad too, but I just wish I had batted for some more time today." Shubman said, sadly. He was satisfied with the win, yes, but some hunger is always insatiable.

"I know that feeling all too well," Virat admitted.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that we won the match. Both Rashid Bhai and Rahul Bhai were wonderful, but I was hoping to stay till the end." Shubman wished.

"You have no idea how many times I've felt the same. I'm in the same boat as you, if that's any consolation." Virat assured him. What could he say to the kid when he himself was one to expect too much and then be absolutely devastated about not finishing the match?

"What do you do then?" Shubman asked him, and Virat gave him a sad smile. This boy truly had a long and hard way to go, but Virat believed that he would ultimately make it.

"I try not to think too much because, at the end of the day, what matters to us is our team winning, right?"

"Yeah but.."

"I know, Shubi, I know. It really is very hard to digest. And it only gets worse when you're on the losing side."

"True too."

"You just have to learn to be content with whatever life throws at you but yet keep striving for more." Virat counselled and Shubman just kept nodding, lost in his own thoughts.

"But you did really well today, Shubi. You have a really bright future ahead of you, like everyone has been saying, and I can't wait to see it. I'm so proud of you, Shubi!" Virat praised him and that immediately lit up Shubman.

"Uh, thanks, Virat Bhaiya." Shubman answered, all flustered. "I'm so proud of you too."

"Aayein?" Virat asked him, amusement evident in his voice.

"I mean, thank you. Just that. Sorry. Thank you." Shubman stumbled upon his words, still learning to accept compliments.

"Shubi, kya bakwaas kar raha ho?" Virat laughed.

"Woh— nothing. Kal aapka aur Ishan ka match hai na?" (That- nothing. Tomorrow is your match against Ishan, right?) Shubman asked him, desperately trying to change the topic.

"Rohit, Hardik, Jassi, and SKY will be there too, I'm so excited about it!" Virat beamed like a kid who was just offered a chocolate.

"Now you're giving me some serious FOMO." Shubman pouted.

"GT played them first, so you don't get to say that." Virat reminded him.

"It's been a MONTH," Shubman whined.

"One month ago was a few days after the final England Test, Shubi." Virat taunted.

"Well, approximately." Shubman argued.

"Kuch bhi?" Virat laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Ja so ja ab, bohot hogaya baatein."

"Theek hai, Bhaiya. You sleep too. Best of luck for your match tomorrow!"

"Does that mean you'll be supporting RCB?" Virat asked him, raising one eyebrow.

"I will be supporting the team that wins. But I hope you and the others play well." Shubman wished him well.

"Nice, I will go and sleep now. You don't stay up too late watching Instagram reels."

"Sure," Shubman laughed.

"Good night, Shubi. Khayal rakhna!"

"Good night, Bhaiya. Take care." And with that, he disconnected the call. Shubman felt content, for once.

A/N: This one took me a while to write because I was experimenting with writing a bit more in Hindi.

What a match it was! Had my fingers crossed all the while. It felt so nice to see Shubman all smiles again. Man, he was pretty scary when he was angry. And Rashid, wow!

Thank you for reading this one, I hope you enjoyed it. Drop a comment or two as it's always a pleasure to read and respond to them! :) <3