Make your own kind of Music | A Shubman Gill x Ishan Kishan Fanfiction

The playing XI

PRESENT

It was startling, but life did not stop.

Almost before Shubman had realized, Team India was gathering in Guwahati for for the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Just a week had passed since Rishabh told them goodbye and let his car crash into the divider. Just four days since he video called him from the hospital, smiling in spite of everything, and telling them not to worry, he was fine.

"If this is your definition of fine," Shubman had said before choking up. "If you want us...not to...not to...worry...why couldn't you drive the damn car...safely..."

"I'm sorry, Shubi," Rishabh had said. "I am also tired of repeating I'm sorry, so will you please accept it on first go?"

"I love you," was all Shubman could say. "Please, please be okay soon and come back to the field."

Rishabh flashed him a thumbs up and a brighter smile. "Trying my best."

He had taken care to call all of them individually, it turned out, over their first practice session of the camp. No one could talk of much other than Rishabh, how he should have been on this flight with them, gearing up for the World Cup later that year. Now the chances of participating in the World Cup was next to zero, and yet...deep inside, everyone was glad that it was not anything worse.

It could have been way worse.

And it hadn't.

Thanks to whoever had pulled him out of the wreckage.

"Ish," Shubman told Ishan when they were practicing catches side by side. "Do you pray for the happiness of those good people who got Rishabh out?"

"Yeah," said Ishan, smiling. "You?"

"Me too."

They laughed. Their laughs were strained, and pained, but they still laughed. Shubman could always laugh when he was with Ishan. It was simple: Ishan made everything better just by being present.

It was just some sort of magic he wielded. 

People said that's what best friends were for. But Shubman didn't believe that. He didn't believe any other best friend anywhere on earth could work magic like Ishan.

That meant, he was pretty much the luckiest person on earth.

***

Shubman's peace of mind took a severe hit the evening before the first ODI when Rohit bhaiya announced the playing XI.

Shubman's name was present. Ishan's was not. Even when Ishan had scored a double hundred the very last match India had played.

What on earth was going on?

Surely there had to be some sort of a mistake.

Shubman's face felt hot all along the team meeting. He kept his eyes down to the table and hoped nobody would look at him. Least of all, Ishan.

After the meeting, he bypassed Ishan who'd come to ask about dinner ("Later") and went up to Rohit bhaiya. 

"What's up, Shubi?" said Rohit bhaiya, all cheer.

"I had a...a doubt," said Shubman timidly.

Rohit bhaiya smiled, putting him at ease. "Yeah?"

"Um, Rohit bhaiya..." Shubman's face had started burning again. "...shouldn't...shouldn't Ishan be opening with you tomorrow?"

"No, you will open with me tomorrow."

"But I'm returning after a long injury, and he-"

"You walk into the squad, Shubi," said Rohit bhaiya calmly.

"How-how can I walk into the squad after Ishan played so-so well-after Ishan scored a double hundred?"

"A double hundred isn't the end of the world, kiddo. Professionally, you're our first choice, and you'll remain that for quite a bit of time after your exploits from the past."

 Shubman guessed he hadn't managed to hide how miserable he felt when Rohit bhaiya put an arm around his shoulders.

"And personally, these team selections are a bummer most of the time," admitted Rohit bhaiya. "You've got to separate the professional and personal aspects. You'll learn someday, don't worry."

"But I don't want Ishan to be hurt by anything related to me," Shubman said to himself.

Was this what their dream, being in the national circuit together with his best friend, going to mean?

***

At dinner, Ishan was completely chilled out, and the next day from the dugout, Ishan's cheers were the loudest when Shubman reached his half century in his comeback match.

But it was easy for him. It wasn't he who was playing with the guilt of having displaced his best friend. Shubman could have cheered for Ishan's milestone so much harder than he could celebrate his own.

After a comprehensive series victory over Sri Lanka-none of which Ishan played in and where Shubman scored a fifty and a hundred-it somehow felt like they had won something bigger than a bilateral ODI series. It was that they had managed to shut out the dark cloud that was Rishabh, stranded in a hospital bed in Mumbai, and managed to get their job done.

The seniors allowed them an evening off at the arcade though the next series against New Zealand was in three days and they had to travel to Hyderabad early the next morning.

Rohit bhaiya and Rahul bhaiya wanted to relax at the cafeteria, but Virat bhaiya dragged them car racing. When Shubman, Ishan, Surya and Washi had finished one round of bowling, Shreyas, Hardik, Kuldeep and Yuzi came to take over the bowling zone.

"We booked it first," said Ishan, shoving Hardik away.

"A game," said Hardik. "Two on two. You win, you retain it. We win, we take over."

"Bring it on," Shubman and Ishan said at once, in identical tones.

"Which are your two?"

"Me and Ishan-" "Me and Shubi."

"Great," said Surya. "Ganging up as always."

"Even though we're better players," Washi muttered.

But Ishan and Shubman were the ones to represent their quartet. Hardik and Shreyas stood for the opposition.

Of course Ishan and Shubman won. Easily. They were champions in bowling, and when partnering each other, they were unbeatable.

Hardik and Shreyas backed off, scowling ungraciously.

"Let's video call Rishabh," Shubman said suddenly, and turned to Ishan only to find he was doing exactly that.

Rishabh appeared on-screen, grinning from ear to ear.

"We're bashing them in bowling, Rishabh!" Ishan and Shubman shouted together.

"The way you two are wired together," said Shreyas wryly. "You guys could have been twins."

"We are," said Ishan. "I changed him to be like me. I wish you could've seen him five years back."

"I remember," Virat bhaiya called as his car went racing past. "He's still the same, inside!"

"He acts up to you, Virat bhaiya," said Shreyas. "You don't know the first thing about him."

Ishan looked at Shubman and laughed. "Do you remember yourself five years back?"

"Yeah," said Shubman. "It wasn't always like this, was it?"