"It's not just done." Rahul sighed, his head buried in his palms.
Everything felt wrong, from when Virat left the captaincy to him losing the first match of the series.
Why did Virat have to leave the captaincy? Rohit bhai told him that he had reasons. I know, but couldn't they be solved without giving up the captaincy?
Virat had given him his usual pep talk about him being sorry.
Rohit bhai and Virat bhai said that they trusted him as a captain.
Was he really enough?
"Rahuliya?" He heard a knock on the door.
Rahul splashed some water on his face before jogging to the door to open it.
"Hey Virat." Rahul greeted him.
"Stop it." Virat commanded, "sit here."
"Stop what?" Rahul questioned, plopping down on the bed besides him.
"Acting," Virat deadpanned, "stop acting."
"What acting?" Rahul asked again, though he had began getting a hint of what Virat meant.
"Why did you skip dinner?" Virat cocked a brow at him.
"Just because," Rahul fumbled, "I didn't feel like eating."
"And why didn't you feel like eating?" Virat asked again.
"I don't know." Rahul answered.
Virat sighed. Stubborn, stubborn kid.
"I know." He stated. "I very well know."
"what?" Rahul shifted his gaze to his feet, and pretended to be interested in the number of toes he had.
"The trolls are getting to you, aren't they?" Virat asked; and this time, Rahul finally made eye contact.
"No, no," He tried to reason. "Of course not."
"Stop lying." Virat glared. "I KNOW."
Rahul sighed.
"It's not easy, bhai." He said, "When we play for IPL, at a point it is easy to avoid criticism. But when we play for the country, for INDIA, with that blue jersey which has our name written on it, when we captain the team that represents the country, it's not easy."
Virat knew. Who else would know better? He knew how dejected it felt. And also, he knew how to deal with it.
"I know, baccha."
"IPL stats are a whole different thing. We all want to give our best for our country. We all want to win. But these things get to your head when you know you're the captain and the team still lost. When we know that we could've done something different to win the match. And then the trolls. I've never taken them seriously. But NOW it's different. It's already a lot of things in my head, all of the guilt, all of the anger. It's just too tough for me, bhai." Rahul breathed.
Virat pulled him closer; letting him speak, he knew that's what was needed.
"Rishab fans troll me, your fans troll me. They say you'll hate me? That rishab will hate me. That I'm incompetent, and that there will be fights in the team for captaincy." Rahul completed, and stared at the ceiling.
"Come with me," Virat dragged him out of the door. "We're going for a walk."
Rahul shot him a Quizzical glance; but went along nevertheless.
When they were finally out in the open air, virat smiled.
"You know, Rahuliya?" He said, "when I was handed over the captaincy, and when Mahi bhai stepped down, even I felt the same way. Trust me, it's not easy. I know. But over the time, you'll get used to it."
Virat paused and glanced at Rahul, who was contently staring at the stars.
"Even mahi bhai took me out for a walk." He smiled at the memory. "And you know what he told me?"
"What?" Rahul asked.
"He told me to captain the team is not just a tag," He said, "it's a responsibility. More like, being a big brother to your team mates. More like keeping the team like a family. More like, leading the family and yet making them feel like they're all the leaders."
"And, rahuliya, it's true. It's not only you who needs to put in everything. It's the team. It's the family. If they all work towards the same thing, it works. And they did."
"Still we lost." Rahul sounded morose, "why?"
"That's because you're still trying to accommodate to the change. You're still trying to fit in the place. Every individual has a unique way of handling things. That's why, every student submits different looking projects though the assignment defined is the same. "
Rahul smiled at the reference. "So, you mean," He asked, "we will be able to get back our rankings?"
"Of course we will," Virat banged Rahul's back, "I trust you."
Rahul smiled.
"Thank you" He mumbled.
"Now, we're going to have an ice cream." Virat dragged him,
And Rahul couldn't help but grin before mocking, "pure fruit and no sugar."
................
Anzee1199 requested for this, and i tried to pen it down :D
The trolls are genuinely stupid. I honestly feel for the captain when people start trolling him for anything, may it be Virat, Rohit or Rahul.
People are crazy -_-
