Sir Ravindra Jadeja walked down the corridors of the team hotel with renewed vigour. He was a man with a mission. A very definite mission. The world had gone mad. His team even more madder, stopping his from giving befitting replies to some people.

And as he is such a good person. He couldn't help but comply with their wishes. But it didn't mean he has to be happy about it, right.  After all, how can he be happy when the world is acting like they are a bunch of fools! Who doesn't know anything?

As far as he knows, cricket is a team game. A game about the efforts of the whole team but no, they had somehow even managed to convert a team game into a one-man army with all their "Virat" or "Rohit" rants.

God, he knows his friends. He knows their talent. He knows how much the team depends upon them and he also knows that this is a team game, not a one-man thingy.

All the Virat shouldn't have left the team like that after the loss, was getting on Jadeja's nerves. Well, all those rants actually made the team in Aus look like absolute clowns. Who didn't know how to even hold a bat! Who couldn't score even a single run! Who hadn't even played a single international match!

Yeah, but did the comments and mainstream people care they were making them look absolutely useless. Like they didn't have any value. Like everything in the team had been done by Virat only, without Virat they are nothing.

Did the people sprouting all these for even a single moment sit and ponder what kinda message they were sending? Did they think they were kinda indirectly saying Virat is the only valuable player around and the rest of the team is totally useless dunderheads? Who doesn't even know which end of the bat to hold?  Do they know they were making it easier for the opposition to crawl in their minds?

Well, the people who didn't give their everything for a game. People who never woke up even before dawn and went for a morning jog. People who had about 08,22,356 ranks in entrance exams are nowadays commenting about their dedication level and commitment.

The guys who can't even get up to attend classes. Are questioning their integrity? Isn't it amusing?

The people who missed the unit test because apparently, they had a fever. Are now, questioning Virat's decision? Even going as far as saying he shouldn't have left after the collapse?

Yeah, after all, according to them Virat changing a pre-decided decision because his team failed. Wouldn't completely shatter the remaining amount of self-confidence the boys had on themselves? It won't indirectly spell Virat didn't trust any of their potential or calibre to face challenges? They should all be just codled by him.

And so he should change his pre-decided decision. After all, Virat had decided to take the leave even before any of the matches of this whole tour had even begun. Virat had felt something, he had felt the need to be there. He wanted to be there and it was his personal choice.

It was his decision and the team had accepted it.

They knew the importance of family for Virat. Well, when you had lost someone very important to you at a very young age and after that, at every important stage of your life had just visualized and imagined their presence and reactions on your moments.

You kinda realize the importance of living in the present. You learn to value the relations around. You learn to live in the moment and cherish the memories. For who knows which moment will be your last moment with someone?

And Jaddu as Virat's bestie knew very well, how deeply engraved this thing was in Virat's system. An eighteen-year-old youthful boy, full of dreams had never imagined that he won't get a chance to see his father alive again after that night.

An eighteen-year-old with dreams of future and life planned always had his father in the picture. It never occurred to him that his father won't be there for him till then, it never occurred to him that his father will say goodbye to the world so soon. It never occurred to him that his father won't be there at his wedding or his father won't even get to see him in the blues, fulfilling both of their dreams.

But life was cruel like that and Virat lost his father. He called his coach and said he'll play because for him, not completing a game was a sin.

But right now, the scenario wasn't the same. He wasn't leaving a game in mid. He had completed his game. Even officially handed over the reins of the next few games to Jinks.

Well, Jinks, Pujji, Ash and he had heard an earful of instructions from Virat. When they had their moments with him before he left for home. Well, he was an anxious mess with the worries of both worlds on his shoulder with them and a confident guy, full of absolute belief and love in front of the kids.

Yeah, the mother hen Captain couldn't let anything damage the spirit of his boys, not even a butchering loss. After all, the guy could cheer for the bowlers after the collapse too.

Jaddu knew from personal experience that Virat will pack and take the nightmare with him back home to analyze and re-analyze but for the boys. He'll be a packet of energy hell-bent on energising and boosting their morals.

After all, they had already hit the rock bottom now and the only way out was up and up. So, coming back to the root cause of Jaddu's all problems and his intense desire to spill someone's guts has been the stupid mainstream people, with their stupid comments.

"Virat shouldn't run away from his team now,"

"He shouldn't leave after the collapse,"

"This and that"

"The guy who played after his father's death, leaving now. Clearly, shows the child is more important than a father"

To all these senseless people Jaddu just wants to ask, does life and death looks the same to them? Well, have they really seen any real birth? Leave humans! Have they seen a dog or horse give birth in real?

If they had, then they would have know the joy birth brings, the anticipation, the cramps and how suddenly a baby covered in blood arrives and how the mother cleans the blood off licking it off. How she keeps the pup who can't even see her close to her? And the squeaky soft noises the little creature makes if that doesn't feel you with happiness and excitement and love.

Well, Jaddu will love to inform you that you're a robot, with no feelings whatsoever. After all, even the medical students doing delivery of a total stranger get tears of happiness after holding a stranger's baby they just delivered in their arms. It's such a special feeling.

And if, Virat wanted to experience it. If he wanted to see the delivery of his baby live. If he wanted to see the baby coming out from mother's womb if he wanted to hear the baby's first cry, if he wanted to see his umbilical cord being cut and preserved, if he wanted to see the baby being cleaned off the blood and being wrapped into towels. If he wanted to see the baby's eyes open for the first time, if he wanted to see the light enter his child's eyes for the first time, if he wanted to experience his baby's birth in its all glory then it was his f**king choice.

Why was it so hard to understand?

And for that death point. All jaddu wants to ask if given a choice between sitting in a trauma centre and watching people die and family mourn and sitting in the infant unit watching the newborn babies sleep, what'll you chose?

Watching death spread its wing or new life's bliss?

Jaddu doesn't want to even think about this. Even if you want to sit in a morgue all day, that's fine, that's your choice and people needs to understand that, it was Virat's choice and as his team, his brothers, his friends, his special people, they respected the said choice.

And to all those claiming Virat shouldn't have left after the debacle. Jaddu just wants to ask, "you guys trying to shatter the confidence of our team and it's members, isn't enough? You want Virat to do the same?"

Yes, as a team they understood Virat's importance. He was their captain, no, not captain, He was their leader. He was their Virat.

But the fact was that eleven players played the game of cricket. It was a team game for god sake and if it was all just about Virat or Rohit? Then what should the rest of them do?

Leave cricket!

If they had to focus only one person that why didn't they make cricket a solo game like badminton or TT. One person can bat another will bowl and they can continue just like that, what's the need of the rest of players?

But it seemed like people didn't want a team, in a team game nowadays. It was all single person glory and song to them. Even in team games. Yeah, the rest of players were there just to see each other's faces and do nothing else.

Or so the outside world thought. They were unjust. Didn't give equal treatment and what not? But it wasn't really the case with them.

For they knew the importance of team spirit. Every member was the same for them. They didn't differentiate between the net bowlers too. They were given equal importance and made feel like a part of the family.

Yeah, they failed.

Yeah, they messed up.

And yeah, they fell really bad.

But at the end of the day, they rise together too.

Now, they might be stuck on rock bottom but they hadn't given up. They were trying to climb up. They were trying to achieve their common goals. They were trying to prove the trust their Captain had on them.

So, even with the whole world trying to tear them down, shatter their confidence and make them feel all worthless about themselves. They were trying to pick their way back up.

Determined! Jaddu banged on the door of the man he was searching and unsurprisingly, the rest of the senior gang was aready present there.

"Are you going through Vi's 'how to take care of my kid's instruction' Jinksy?" He joked watching Jinks frown at some papers.

His quip earned him a sharp glare from his current Captain.

"Ugh, as if his till last moment, reminders weren't enough. Rahul is like this, Subh is like that, Mayu won't say this and that, he knows I've been here all along, doesn't he?" Jinks exhaled all exasperated with Virat's instructions on how to make my kids feel loved, cared for and important.

"Even during our time. All he could speak was kids this or that," Pujji just rolled his eyes.

"He was supposed to boost our morale. Why was he giving us instructions on '20 plus kids care'?" Ash asked sighing.

"He is absolutely nuts, that's why" Jad grinned.

Everyone just smirked. A knowing smirk.

"So, what's the final plan?" He asked seriously, they had a very important mission in hand.

A mission named "positivity"

"I think, we should follow Virat's instruction," Jinks said, speaking in a way, that made it clear he couldn't believe he was actually saying this.

"You serious!" Pujji and Ash couldn't help but ask totally surprised.

"Yeah....surprisingly, his such plans work" Jinks sighed again. He was sighing too much these days.

"And no, you're not hollering their name from here" he warned instantly noticing Jaddu's evilly twinkling eyes.

"You're no fun, Jinky baby!!" Jad whined rolling his eyes.

"Don't take up, Virat's habits"

"You're getting it, wrong jinksyy dearest. It's he who copies me, not the other way around"

"Jaddu!"

"What! I still think it's a good idea"

"Absolutely not,"

Even Ash and Pujjj sided with Jinks and Jaddu felt a little outnumbered. Okay, so surprisingly all the crazy seniors had also suddenly disappeared from the team. But, he'll make do for now as they worked on the plans. Divided kids time(Vi's order again) and divided moral boosting tactics with the usual bickerings.

Jaddu couldn't help but be absolutely proud of the environment they had created.

Outside! The world could try tear them down. The world could snatch everything and leave only scrapes with them. But all of them had once started from the scrapes and they didn't mind doing it all over again.

The world was allowed to try and hurt them.

But in here, in there sphere, they'll just heal each other.

For they were a team.

Always there for each other.

Always understanding and supporting each other.

They were a team.

They were a family.

And they'll always remember this.

~the end~