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The above song is 'Parinda' from the movie 'Saina'

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So Cheeku has got his maiden India call up.

Will the world finally find out about the young Dhoni?

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The Indian team was just finishing up the test matches when their white ball captain arrived at the team hotel with their newest player.

Only players since before the 2011 World Cup or CSK knew about Cheeku and Mahi had preferred to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Rohit and Jaddu were given the task of making their young debutant feel comfortable in the team and also to protect him from the welcome pranks.

Afterall Jaddu knew better than to try and prank his Mahi Bhai's little brother and he was usually the ringleader of the special team welcomes.

Without Sir Jadeja, there was little to no chance of the new kids being pranked or bothered by any of the resident pranksters.

~~~~~~~

The series was neck and neck, and the final match was to be a decider in which Cheeku was supposed to make his international debut.

This match was also particularly special because all the players were going to sport their mother's name on their jerseys.

Since everyone knew that Virat was an orphan there was quite a lot of chatter about whose name he would have on his jersey.

Mahi was slightly worried about them having the same name on their jerseys and people making the connection about them being brothers.

He decided to have a chat about the subject with his baby brother and went to his room for the same.

Cheeku was just done chatting with his Dona Bhabhi about how excited he was to finally play with his Bhaiya.

Mahi knocked on the door and peaked inside to check if his baby brother was alone before entering the room.

Cheeku smiles brightly at his brother and asks, "What's up Bhaiya?"

Mahi takes a deep breath and replies, "We need to talk about something related to the match. The players are going to be playing with their respective mother's name and I'm a little worried that people might notice us playing with the same name. We need to figure out what we'll be telling the media if they ask about it."

Cheeku's mood instantly sours as he asks, "Why can't we tell them the truth?"

Unfortunately, Mahi doesn't notice the change in his baby brother's tone because he was preoccupied with his thoughts and replies, "Well because you haven't yet really made your place in the team yet. I can't even imagine the kind of nonsense that could be going around once people come to know about us."

Having had enough of the repeated arguments they had on the subject, Cheeku angrily asks, "So what if I don't have a place in this team then I'm not good enough to be your brother?"

Mahi looks taken aback by the anger as he replies, "No, not at all. Why would you even think like that? Cheeku, I'm really proud of you but you have got to under-"

Cheeku cuts him off, "Don't say you're proud of me if you don't mean it. If you really were proud of me then you wouldn't be hiding the fact that I'm your brother. I agreed to your request to keep my relationship with you hidden, but now I've had enough of all this. I went along with your request but I'm tired of all the lies. Even our entire team doesn't know about me and because of that I can't even hug you whenever I want. If we are ever in public, I need to stop myself from showing affection to my own brother. Do you even understand how difficult that is for me? You might not be into the public displays of affection, but I like showing the people I care that I appreciate them. I'm tired of having to think twice before I act all the time."

Mahi says, "Cheeku, you're misunderstanding me. Bachha, I'm just trying to do what's best for you. I know that it's hard for you, but you have to understand that all this is to keep you safe. I don't like it any more than you, but I also want to protect you. Please try to understand where I'm coming from."

Cheeku shakes his head and replies, "I'm done trying to understand you and your actions, Bhaiya. I don't know what you want to protect me from but let me remind you that I'm not a little kid anymore. Anyway, you don't need to worry about people finding out about us from our jerseys because we'll be using different names."

Mahi looks genuinely confused and asks, "What do you mean?"

Cheeku replies, "Everyone is using their mother's name as a form of tribute for their contribution into making them the people that they are today. I don't really know our mother, so it doesn't make sense for me to use her name for this. Besides the world knows me as an orphan so it shouldn't matter whose name I use."

Mahi argues, "She is our mother, the woman who gave birth to both of us. Cheeku, you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for her."

Cheeku says, "I'm not changing my mind about this. Anyways why do you have an issue with this? This actually helps you to hide the fact that I'm your brother."

Mahi pinches his nose in frustration and replies, "Cheeku, you are misunderstanding me again. I'm only trying to protect you."

Cheeku angrily asks, "What are you protecting me from? What is the problem if people know that I'm your little brother? How did sending me away from home help in any way?"

Finally having enough of the repeated accusations, Mahi snaps, "I'm trying to protect you from the harsh judgement of the people around us. You think I liked sending you far away from me? It hurt to stay away from you. Since the day you were born, you've always been around me. I have never spent an entire day without you and in the past few years, I had to go months without seeing you. Do you think all this was easy for me? But I had to go through with everything because I wanted you to make a name for yourself. I don't want anyone to treat you differently just because you are related to me."

Cheeku asks, "Did you think people would give me preferential treatment or something?"

Mahi shakes his head and replies, "I was more worried about people coming after you because of me. During the fixing scandal, the media started badmouthing Sakshi just because my name came up and she's my wife. It's my job to protect you guys, but back then there was nothing I could do. I have never felt so helpless in my entire life because Sakshi was so troubled by all that and I refuse to put you through something similar. Sonu and Jaddu also had to undergo an investigation just because they play in the same team as me. I'm sorry but I can't see the people I care about suffer just because they are related to me. You were just starting your career and you didn't need something like that hanging over your head. I don't care what you think, but I did what I thought was right to protect my little brother."

Cheeku starts tearing up as he softly says, "I didn't know Bhaiya. I'm so-"

Mahi cuts his brother off, "I don't need an apology from you. You actually thought that I lied when I said that I was proud of you. You know what, you can tell the world about us whenever you feel like it. I'm not going to force you to hide anymore. If you need me to answer the media then let me know, but we're done talking about this."

With that Mahi storms out of the room leaving an emotional Cheeku behind.

~~~~~~~

Sakshi plopped down on the sofa in the living room, tired after dealing with a fussy baby all morning.

Ziva seemed to have a slight fever since she woke up and trying to feed her anything had been nothing short of a battle.

Just then her phone starts ringing and she is surprised to see her husband's name flashing on the screen.

The man wasn't very well-known for his mobile phone-based communications skills and usually only called in case of emergencies.

Sakshi picks up the phone and asks, "What's wrong Mahi?"

Mahi replies, "What makes you think that something is wrong? Can't a man want to talk to his wife?"

Sakshi raises an eyebrow and asks, "Really?"

Mahi sighs and replies, "I just did something that I really hoped that I never would. I mean I don't remember Papa doing anything like this ever and this just proves that I'm not a very good father."

Sakshi says, "Okay hold up mister. You are a very good father. Ziva already loves you the most. Cheeku also loves you so much plus he even looks up to you."

Mahi replies in a low voice, "Cheeku probably doesn't anymore. Honestly, I wouldn't even blame him for that."

Sakshi asks in a worried tone, "Mahi, what happened?"

Mahi replies, "We fought again about the name thing. I also found out that he's not using Maa's name on his jersey for the match. The argument started as usual, but then he accused me of lying when I tell him that I'm proud of him. I don't know why, but I just snapped then. How can he think that I'm not proud of him? That I'm somehow ashamed of him and that's why I want to hide our relation. Cheeku is the reason I kept going after everything that happened, but somehow, I made him feel like he's not good enough for me. Sakshi, I made my Cheeku feel inadequate."

Sakshi says, "Mahi, don't blame yourself for this. This was just Cheeku's insecurities and fear talking. You loved and cared for that kid to the best of your ability. Mahi, you have done everything that you could for him."

Mahi asks, "Then why do I feel so bad about all this?"

Sakshi smiles and replies, "Because you love him. Now tell me what exactly you said when you snapped at him."

Mahi says, "It was mostly about my own feelings, I think. Like how much I missed him and about how I felt when everyone was going after you."

Sakshi replies, "See, even when you snapped at him you didn't say anything negative to him. You just feel bad now because you didn't want him to know how bad things were back then. Mahi, you're still trying to protect your kid by hiding your own pain. Cheeku is old enough to know these things and also understand them. You can't protect him forever, no matter how much you wish to."

Mahi sighs and says, "I still feel bad about how I spoke to him. I shouldn't have snapped like that."

Sakshi replies, "So just talk to him calmly and apologise for that. Mahi, you're allowed to make mistakes. You might be his big brother, but you're still human."

Mahi says, "I'll apologise to him, but not now. I need to think of a way to make it up to him as well first."

Sakshi suddenly asks, "Who will be giving him his cap on the day of his debut?"

Mahi replies, "I think our head coach will, why?"

Sakshi says, "How about you give it to him instead? Cheeku would honestly love that. Trust me, it'll make our kid's day."

Mahi smiles and replies, "Alright then that's exactly what I'll do. Hopefully we'll be able to move on from this."

Sakshi says, "You boys will be just fine. Now please try to relax. Cheeku won't be too mad at you."

Mahi replies, "I really hope so. I'll let you get back to your day now. Thank you for being so amazing and putting up with an idiot like me."

Sakshi giggles and teasingly says, "Well I happen to love this idiot, so it's no problem at all. I better check on Ziva now and before you start panicking let me tell you that she'll be just fine."

Mahi replies, "That's nice to know. Just let me know if anything changes."

Sakshi agrees before cutting the call and going to check on her dear daughter.

~~~~~~~

Sonu was annoyed with his best friend because the man was still quite troubled after his fight with Cheeku, but he had also been avoiding the kid.

Sakshi had brought him up to speed and he had even gone to talk to Cheeku alone about everything.

The kid seemed to be hurting because he had no idea what all his Bhaiya had been going through and wanted to apologise for his harsh words.

Unfortunately for Cheeku though, Mahi didn't quite feel ready to talk about the unfortunate incident.

Sonu had sent Rohit and Jaddu to cheer the kid's spirits until such time that his best friend decided to stop being stupid.

The two kids were surprised by the choice of words for their captain from their Sonu Bhai, but they were more than happy to spend time with Cheeku.

Cheeku felt better after spending time with his older brothers but the fact that his Bhaiya was still ignoring him bothered him a lot.

The kid couldn't even imagine that his brother would be avoiding him because Mahi felt horrible about the way he had reacted.

~~~~~~~

A day before the match all the players were asked to say a little something about the names on their jersey for the special match.

As the captain was asked to go first, Mahi proudly shows the back of his jersey and says, "I'll be playing with my mother's name tomorrow. She's been my biggest supporter right from the start of my journey, long before I could see a future for myself. She might not be here with us today, but I can only hope that I'm making her proud."

One by one all the players say a few words about their respective mothers until it was their debutant's turn.

Cheeku says, "As a lot of you people know, I lost my parents at a very young age. I honestly don't remember much about them. My older brother has been the only constant in my life for as long as I can remember. I was lucky enough to meet a few amazing women over the years, who loved me as if I were their own son. I can't put all of their names on one jersey, so I had to do the tough task of choosing one of them. I chose this opportunity to honour the woman who's the biggest support system for both me and my Bhaiya."

The kid pauses for a second to show the back of his jersey and continues, "I'll be playing with my Bhabhi's name tomorrow. She might not be my mother but she's definitely the closest thing I have to one."

Mahi's eyes started tearing up as he listens to his baby brother's speech, finally understanding that his kid had truly grown up.

Cheeku takes a peek in his Bhaiya's direction, only to find the man smiling widely with teary eyes.

~~~~~~~

During the team huddle before the match, Mahi himself hands the cap to his baby brother, who was overwhelmed by emotions.

Cheeku could see the pride shining in his Bhaiya's eyes as the man handed him his cap in front of their team.

India choses to bowl first and try their best to restrict New Zealand to a low score before the batters come out for the second innings.

The openers aren't able to do much as they get dismissed for low scores and the captain decided to send the debutant in early.

A partnership started building up steadily before the other batter was dismissed and Mahi finally walked out to join his baby brother.

Cheeku soon scores his maiden century after which his Bhaiya hugs him and whispers, "Bachha, I'm sorry about before, but remember that I'm proud of you."

The Dhoni brothers together smashed all the bowlers left and right to take their team over the line.

After Cheeku scored the winning runs, the team runs out to jump on the kid before hugging and picking him up.

They even start random dancing sessions to celebrate the win with the star of the day right in the centre.

~~~~~~~

Later during the presentation, both the captains are called for a chat first and they both appreciate the young debutant's innings.

When Mahi was speaking to the host, he is asked about how he feels about the knock from the young star, so he says, "As a captain, it's nice to know that the future of Indian cricket is in good hands. As an older brother, I can't really express how I feel after seeing my baby brother score his maiden century in the exact same ground where I scored my first one."

The host looks confused and asks, "Older brother?"

Cheeku's eyes widen as his Bhaiya replies, "I'm sure you guys know that I have a younger brother and also that I'd been taking care of him since our parents passed away in an accident. I think he was more famous by his nickname, so not many people know his legal name. I was hoping he could make a name for himself before we decided to let the world know his full name. So for those of you who might still be a little confused, our debutant Virat's full name is Virat Singh Dhoni."

Everyone is stunned by the revelation and Mahi is attacked by a hug from his emotional little kid.

Later Cheeku is also declared to be the player of the match and no one was cheering louder than his Bhaiya when the announcement is made.

Cheeku answers all the questions and also reveals that he didn't really expect that his real identity would be made public after the game like that.

The kid had obviously wanted to talk about his brother more freely, but he didn't expect Mahi to do so.

Cheeku hands his trophy to his Bhaiya before the brothers share a hug and some people even caught their stoic captain with teary eyes.

~~~~~~~

So the world finally knows about the young Virat Singh Dhoni

How will Cheeku's journey change from here on?

Let me know what you guys think ✍🏻

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