As luck would have it, the team selection for the Tests against England was scheduled for that very evening.
Jinks and Ash, the captain and vice captain, were glad to escape from the gloomy atmosphere of their hotel for a few hours.
But Ash had no idea about what Jinks had planned, and extremely unexpectedly, Jinks said during the meeting, "We're including Virat, of course."
"He has retired," said Prasad promptly.
"No, no, he has withdrawn that statement. He's going to make it official tomorrow--right, Ash?" asked Jinks, turning to Ash.
Ash recovered from his shock quickly and said, "Yes, he told us."
"Ok," said Prasad, convinced.
"And of course he'll be the captain again," said Jinks, as if there could be no question about it.
______________
Thus, the Test team was annouced with Virat Kohli's name at the very beginning with a (C).
Virat couldn't believe when he saw it. Wasn't his team taking it a bit too far?
He went in search of Jinks, sure that he was the mastermind behind it, and found him with Rohit in the latter's room.
"Did you tell them to include me, Jinks?" he asked Jinks dangerously.
"Don't get mad--" began Jinks, but Virat was past being mad.
"Firstly, Jinks, I want you to know clearly that neither you nor Rohit have any right to control my life like you're trying to," said Virat in a low, fierce voice. "And secondly, you can't make me play if I don't want to."
Virat spoke in a tone meant to be cruel and hurtful, but Jinks didn't get hurt or angry, because as he and Rohit knew best, Jinks had infinite patience when it came to them.
And that made Virat feel a murderous rage towards Jinks.
"I'm not trying to control your life, Virat. Neither is Rohit. We just want to ensure you don't take a decision you'll regret all your life," said Jinks in his usual kind-hearted voice, so Virat took another track swiftly.
"All the times these days you and Rohit are planning together to force things on me. If you two are so comfortable with each other, don't you think you're better off without me? Let me go away--then you can stay together in peace," said Virat, his voice shaking.
Rohit, stared at the floor, not wanting to say anything and get yelled at again.
Jinks, shocked that Virat might actually mean what he just said, caught his eyes.
You can't seriously think that Ro and I don't need you... said Jinks.
Something clicked inside Virat's head.
When you know a person as well as Virat knew Jinks, you know exactly what will hurt him most. And so Virat didn't respond to their telepathic connection; he stared at Jinks like he didn't understand.
Jinks saw Virat's blank, uncomprehending expression and blinked in confusion; and Virat knew that he had finally succeeded in hurting Jinks, maybe for the first time ever.
Virat refused to acknowledge our telepathic connection.
Rohit immediately knew that something was wrong, but not knowing about their eye conversations, he couldn't guess what.
"You can't force me to play, Jinks," spat Virat before walking out and slamming the door.
Jinks stared after him, wondering why everything in their lives would persist in heading the absolute wrong way.
"Jinks? What happened?" asked Rohit, concerned.
Virat actually refused to acknowledge our telepathic connection.
Which came down to Virat refusing to acknowledge their entire friendship over all these years.
And he couldn't explain this to Rohit, or anyone, because they just wouldn't understand that connection.
So he tried not to look as upset as he felt and told Rohit, "We need to talk to Mahi bhai."
____________
As Virat was going back to lock himself in his room, he had to pass Bhuvi's room. He tried to slip past unnoticed, but Bhuvi saw him anyway, and called, "Virat--can you come here for a moment?"
Virat knew that if Bhuvi's childish brown eyes hit him right now, saying, "Please don't go, Virat," he would not have the strength to refuse him, so he pretended not to hear him, and continued walking.
He stayed locked in his room, staring at his flight ticket, wondering how he would feel when he'll be on the plane tomorrow, going away from cricket and his family forever.
_____________
"What do we do, Mahi bhai?" Rohit asked with a sigh; he and Jinks were sitting on either side of Mahi bhai in his room.
"You two are rubbing him in the wrong way," said Mahi bhai. "You know how wilful Virat is, and trying to force him into doing something was never going to work."
"What else could we do?" asked Rohit. Jinks remained silent, still thinking about Virat's reaction.
"Let him go," said Mahi bhai simply.
"What?" asked Jinks finally.
"Yes. Tell him he's free to go. That's the only thing that might work."
Kuldeep came in, looking as miserable as Jinks felt, and he went straight to Mahi bhai. Jinks moved away so that Mahi bhai could hug him.
"What's going to happen, Mahi bhai?" asked Kuldeep, almost in tears.
"That's what we were talking about," said Mahi bhai. "Just let him do what he wants, Kuliya. Support him in whatever he does."
The three of them decided to trust their big brother, because so far in their experience, Mahi bhai had never been wrong.
____________
Rohit and Jinks walked to Virat's room.
"You tell him," said Rohit, stepping away. "It's mainly between the two of you."
Jinks knocked. "Virat, it's me."
No answer.
Jinks' heart sank. Not only their eye conversations, Virat was refusing to acknowledge his voice too, now.
"Virat..." said Jinks, trying to speak normally. "You're free to go. I'll tell them to remove your name from the squad."
After a while Virat opened the door.
"Thank you," he said icily.
They stared at each other, Jinks desperately praying that Virat tells him something with his eyes... because surely Virat couldn't go away in this awful cold manner?
Jinks seemed too quiet and withdrawn, the kind he got when he was hurt really bad, and as usual Virat began to regret his actions bitterly.
"Are you going down for dinner?" asked Virat, in an attempt at friendliness, but it just came out as awkward.
"Yes, I guess," said Jinks.
"Let's go then."
____________
So Virat was having his last dinner with his team, and it didn't feel nice to anyone.
Everyone was quiet and listless, and Virat, glancing around the table, thought that this was the absolute worst way to say goodbye to his team.
His equation with both his best friends was awful; Jinks still looked so miserable, and Rohit looked expressionless. Bhuvi would not look at him. Mahi bhai just looked so disappointed in him.
Kuldeep, Yuzi, Hardik and Rahul were all unnaturally silent, and Jaddu, Shikhar and Ash looked stormy.
He suddenly noticed that Jassi wasn't there.
"Where's Jassi?" asked Virat to the team in general.
"He's been locked up in his room for more than 4 hours," said Bhuvi stiffly, still staring down at his plate.
Bhuvi sounded so awfully cold, and why wouldn't he?
Virat pushed his plate away, not feeling like eating anymore.
"I'd better check on him," he muttered and went up the stairs to Jassi's room.