♤ The After-Match ♤

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Shubman's POV

I picked up my bag and called my dad. He was always the first person I spoke to after a match. The call connected.

"Hello, Papa?"

"Haan, beta. Meine tumhari aaj match dekhi. You played very well."

"Thank you, papa. Aapne TV par dekha tha?" I asked.

"Haan, tu toh papa ko tickets bhi nahi deta." He said, jokingly. I could imagine him smiling at me.

"Arey, mein kya karta? Agar mujhe tickets mile hote toh mein aapko zaroor deta. Lekin mujhe hi nahi mile, toh mein kya karoon?"

"Beta, mein mazak kar raha hoon."

"Mm, mazak. Thik hai, chalo, ab mujhe jaana padega. Coach mujhe call kar rahe hai. Bye, Papa."

"Bye, beta."

Our head coach was calling me over, so I waved to him, signalling that I was coming over. I slung my bag on my shoulder and walked over to him.

"A true Captain's innings today, Shubman. Shaabash. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Are you going to the hotel?"

"Yes, I am. Lekin baad mein mujhe kahan toh jaana hai."

"Kahan ja rahe ho?"

"Mujhe bhi nahi paata. Woh sirf Ishan ko paata hai."

"Hmm thik hai phir. Lekin you have a curfew, bhulo maat. Be back by 9." He finished, sternly.

"Ok sir, aap fikar maat karo. I will be back by 9. Pakka."

He just chuckled, knowing I most likely wouldn't keep my word. I smiled and walked towards the canteen, unlocking my phone to see if Ishan had sent me anything again.

Me and Ishan were both staying in the same hotel for a few days, because our next match was a home game, and there was still a while till then, so some of our team had decided that we would stay for a couple of days. I was planning to stay in a different hotel room until Ishan told me that he was staying in the same hotel so we decided to stay in the same room, splitting the hotel bill. He'd offered to pay the whole thing, but how could I let him do that?

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From Ishan, 3 minutes ago
Yaar, hurry up. Kitna der kar rahe ho.
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I typed a quick response, telling him I was coming. I stepped through the canteen door (which we shared with the Mumbai team), took my bag off my shoulder, and put it down. Before I even had the chance to take in my surroundings, someone jumped on my back. Ishan hi hoga, ye pagal ladka.

"Oye, Ishan! Neeche utaro yaar!"

"Kitna der karte ho tum yaar."

"Meri coach ke saath ek zaroori baat thi, aur papa ko bhi phone kiya meine."

"Ok fine. Aaj keliye, I let you off, okay? Kal hua toh dekh mein tera kya karta hoon." He got off my back.

"Tu kya karega, bhai?"

"Tujhe kyun batao?"

"Ok boss, maat batao. Mujhe aaj ya kal pata chal hi jayega. Ab chalo, humko hotel jaana hai. Aur haan, coach ne mujhe kahan tha ki humari curfew 9 baje hai, toh hum tab tak aa jayege na?"

"Hopefully. Chalo yaar, mujhe baal-bil sab karna hai aaj, jaldi jaldi!"

I chuckled at his urgency and we both made our way out. A driver was waiting for us outside, named Raju. He'd been our driver during the international matches as well, so we knew him very well.

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