For More Future Chapters: -
My Patreon: -
https://www.patreon.com/c/Kynstra
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Donate Power Stones and Join My Patreon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The world of international cricket is a relentless, unforgiving machine. It does not pause to let you admire your trophies, nor does it wait for the confetti to be swept off the stadium floor.
A month and a half had passed since that magical, historic night at the Vijay Khel Maidan in Patra City. For Aarav Pathak, those forty-five days had been a deeply necessary sanctuary. He had walked the quiet, snow-covered streets of Hokkaido, negotiated the cutthroat boardrooms of Silicon Valley, and spent quiet evenings in Bandra with Shradha and his friends.
But while the Prince was resting, the machinery of Indian cricket had kept turning.
The transition of power had been incredibly smooth, orchestrated with a level of maturity that the BCCI hadn't seen in decades. Rohit Sharma's emotional, monumental decision to step down from white-ball captaincy after lifting the 2023 World Cup had left a massive void. But there was absolutely zero debate about who would fill it.
Aarav Pathak was officially named the full-time captain of the Indian ODI and T20I squads.
In the longer format, the hierarchy remained undisturbed. Virat Kohli, entirely revitalized and batting like a dream, retained his iron grip on the Test captaincy. The King would continue to marshal the troops in whites, while the Prince was handed the keys to the limited-overs empire.
However, because Aarav, Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah, and Shami had been granted an extended, mandatory period of rest following the grueling two-month World Cup campaign, a temporary vacuum existed.
To bridge the gap, the calm, incredibly astute KL Rahul had been appointed as the interim captain for the immediate bilateral white-ball series.
But the team that KL Rahul took out onto the field was not the same team that had won the World Cup. It was a new, heavily revamped, and dangerously explosive squad.
And the blueprint for this new squad had been drawn up in a quiet, highly classified meeting room inside the BCCI headquarters just three days after the Patra City final.
Flashback: Six Weeks Earlier
The boardroom was small, containing only five men: Rahul Dravid, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Aarav Pathak.
Aarav sat at the table, leaning forward, a digital tablet illuminated in front of him. He wasn't speaking like a twenty-three-year-old player; he was speaking like the incoming commander-in-chief of the limited-overs formats.
"The T20 World Cup is in June," Aarav stated, his voice calm but authoritative, looking directly at Agarkar and Dravid. "We have exactly six months to prepare. The ODI template we used was perfect for fifty overs. We took our time, we consolidated, we went big at the death. But T20 cricket has evolved, and if we play conservative cricket in the powerplay, we will get left behind."
Dravid nodded slowly, steepling his fingers. "What are you suggesting, Aarav?"
"I am suggesting a complete structural overhaul at the top of the order in T20Is," Aarav replied smoothly. He swiped on his tablet, bringing up domestic and IPL strike rates.
"I want Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill to open the batting in T20Is moving forward," Aarav declared.
Rohit raised an eyebrow, though a proud smirk touched his lips. "That's a bold call, Pathak. You're benching experience for pure youth."
"It's not just about youth, Skip; it's about the combination," Aarav explained, his tactical mind dissecting the game. "Jaiswal is a left-hander who does not know how to take a backward step. He hits from ball one. Gill has the pristine technique to anchor or explode. A left-right combination that strikes at over 150 in the powerplay is exactly what we need to set the tone. It takes the pressure off the middle order entirely."
Virat Kohli leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "And what about the middle order?"
"We back the fearless guys," Aarav said firmly. "Rinku Singh. Suryakumar Yadav. Hardik Pandya. We need players who can walk in at 40 for 3 or 150 for 1 and play the exact same aggressive brand of cricket. No fear of failure. I don't care if we get bowled out for 120 trying to hit boundaries. I want the intent."
Agarkar looked at Dravid. The head coach smiled faintly.
"It's your team now in the white-ball formats, Aarav," Dravid said simply. "If this is the blueprint for June, we start executing it immediately."
Present Day
The blueprint had worked beautifully.
Sitting in the massive, sunlit living room of his Patra City penthouse, Aarav was sipping a protein shake and watching the highlights of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa on his massive TV.
The screen showed a replay of a young, fearless Yashasvi Jaiswal stepping out of his crease and launching Kagiso Rabada over extra cover for a colossal six in the very first over of the match. At the other end, Shubman Gill was matching him shot for shot.
Under the calm, stabilizing interim leadership of KL Rahul, the young Indian squad dubbed 'The Invincibles 2.0' by the media was playing a breathtakingly aggressive brand of cricket. Rinku Singh was finishing games with ice in his veins, and the young spinners like Ravi Bishnoi were thriving.
Aarav smiled, turning the television off. The foundation was set.
As he walked toward his home gym to begin his high-intensity conditioning workout, his mind inevitably drifted toward June.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Hosted in the West Indies and the USA.
The T20 format held a very specific, deeply personal weight for Aarav and the Indian team. It was a format of massive highs and bitter heartbreaks.
In 2021, India had lifted the T20 World Cup in the UAE. It was a tournament that had officially cemented Aarav Pathak's status as a cricketing deity. He had played a campaign that was universally recognized as the greatest individual performance in T20 history. He had finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament, striking at an absurd strike rate, and miraculously, he had also finished as the second-highest wicket-taker, terrorizing batters with his 155 kmph pace on slow UAE pitches. He had dragged the team to the trophy almost single-handedly.
But 2022 had been a different story.
The T20 World Cup in Australia had ended in a bitter, agonizing semi-final defeat against New Zealand in Adelaide. Despite Aarav's heroic innings in that match, the India had failed to chase the total against a rampant Kiwi batting lineup. It was a scar that had quietly burned beneath the surface, even through the glory of the recent 2023 ODI World Cup victory.
Aarav walked into his gym, dropping his towel onto a bench. He walked over to the squat rack, loading the barbell with a terrifying amount of weight.
He had won the ODI World Cup. He had secured the timeline. But the Prince was not a man who knew how to rest on his laurels. The fire to reclaim the T20 crown, to avenge the 2022 heartbreak, was already roaring to life in his chest.
His phone buzzed on the bench. It was a text from Rahul Dravid.
Coach Sahab:Series wrapped up 3-1. The kids played brilliantly. Jaiswal is an absolute beast.
Coach Sahab:Hope you enjoyed the vacation, Skipper. The steering wheel is officially yours again.
Aarav read the text, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across his face. He typed back a quick reply.
Aarav:Great job holding down the fort, Rahul Sir. Tell the boys to enjoy the win.
Aarav:I'll see you all at the NCA camp next week. Vacation is over. Let's go get our trophy back.
Aarav tossed the phone aside, gripped the heavy, knurled iron of the barbell, and lifted it off the rack.
The king of the 50-over format had been crowned. Now, it was time for the prince to conquer the 20-over world all over again.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The return of the Prince to the cricket pitch was brief, explosive, and ruthlessly efficient.
After his extended, much-needed sabbatical, Aarav Pathak rejoined the Indian squad for the final two matches of a bilateral T20I series. He didn't look like a man who had spent the last month and a half navigating corporate boardrooms and Japanese hot springs. He stepped back onto the 22 yards and immediately tore through the opposition, picking up five wickets across the two games and hitting a casual, terrifying 48 off 18 balls.
But the white-ball festivities were merely a warm-up. The true crucible of the early 2024 calendar was the traditional, grueling, five-match Test series against England on home soil.
The English media had arrived in India armed to the teeth with narratives. They brought their highly publicized, hyper-aggressive brand of red-ball cricket dubbed 'Bazball' and boldly proclaimed that they would be the ones to finally breach the impenetrable fortress of Indian home conditions.
Virat Kohli, the undisputed, terrifying monarch of Test cricket, took that narrative as a personal insult.
What followed over the next two months was not a competitive sporting contest; it was a systematic, five-part burial.
The English batters tried to sweep, reverse-sweep, and slog their way out of trouble. In response, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja spun webs so complex and venomous that the visitors were routinely bowled out within two sessions. Jasprit Bumrah made a mockery of their aggressive footwork with reverse-swinging yorkers that defied the laws of physics.
And Aarav Pathak? He simply ran in at 155 kilometers per hour with a SG red ball that felt as hard as a cannonball, physically intimidating the English top order into absolute submission.
By the time the final Test in Dharamshala concluded, nestled against the breathtaking backdrop of the snow-capped Himalayas, the scoreline read a devastating 5-0 in favor of India.
The post-match presentation was a celebration of sheer dominance. But it was inside the warm, wood-paneled confines of the Indian dressing room that history was truly written.
The team sat around the room, still wearing their sweat-stained whites, laughing and sharing slices of a massive victory cake. Rohit Sharma, now a pure batsman in the Test format, was animatedly discussing a specific cover drive with Shubman Gill.
Suddenly, Virat Kohli stood up from his corner seat.
He clapped his hands together twice. The sharp, commanding sound instantly cut through the chatter. The dressing room fell into an attentive, respectful silence.
Kohli didn't have his bat in hand. He wasn't wearing his helmet. But as he looked around the room, meeting the eyes of every single player and support staff member, his aura was larger than life.
"Boys," Kohli began, his voice surprisingly soft, yet carrying an immense, echoing weight. "What we did over the last two months... that is the standard. We didn't just beat them; we broke their philosophy. We defended our fortress."
He paused, looking down at his worn-out Test cap, tracing the BCCI crest with his thumb.
"When I took over this Test team nearly a decade ago, we were sitting at number seven in the rankings. We were a team that hoped to draw overseas and relied entirely on turning tracks at home to win."
Kohli looked back up, his eyes burning with the fierce, unapologetic pride of a man who had conquered the world.
"Look at us now. We are the undisputed number one. We haven't lost a series at home in twelve years. We have conquered Australia in their own backyard. We have conquered England. We hold the Test mace, and we have lifted the World Test Championship mace not once, but twice."
He took a deep, shuddering breath. The realization of what was coming began to slowly dawn on the faces of the senior players. Rohit Sharma sat up straight, his expression turning solemn. Rahul Dravid leaned against the locker, crossing his arms.
"I have given my absolute blood, sweat, and soul to this captaincy," Kohli said, his voice thickening with raw emotion. "I demanded a level of fitness and aggression from you all that bordered on insanity, and every single one of you delivered. You made me the most successful Test captain this country has ever produced. You made my dreams come true."
Kohli looked directly at Rohit Sharma. "Ro... you stepped down from ODI and T20I captaincy because you knew the time was right to let the next generation take the wheel. You wanted to focus on your batting. I didn't fully understand the relief you felt that night in Patra City until this very series."
A stunned murmur rippled through the younger players in the room. Shubman Gill's jaw literally dropped.
"I am officially stepping down as the captain of the Indian Test team," Virat Kohli declared.
The silence that followed was absolute.
"I'm not retiring," Kohli quickly added, a wide, genuine grin breaking across his bearded face. "Don't you dare think you're getting rid of me that easily. I have a lot of runs left in this bat. I want to play all three formats. I want to stand in the slips, I want to chase down totals, and I want to enjoy the twilight of my career without having to worry about fielding placements or press conferences."
He stepped away from his locker, walking slowly toward the center of the room. He stopped directly in front of the Vice-Captain.
Aarav Pathak, sitting on a bench, looked up at his idol.
"Stand up, Aarav," Kohli commanded softly.
Aarav stood up. At six-foot-two, he looked down slightly at the King, but the respect in his dark eyes was immeasurable.
Kohli reached out, grabbing Aarav by both shoulders.
"You built this era with me," Kohli said, his voice echoing in the quiet room. "You were the spearhead that allowed me to take 20 wickets overseas. You were the batter who bailed us out when the top order collapsed. You are already leading the white-ball squads with absolute brilliance."
Kohli let go of Aarav's shoulders and took a step back.
"The white-ball empire is yours. The red-ball empire is yours. You are the all-format captain of the Indian Cricket Team now, Aarav. Lead them with fire. Protect this fortress."
Aarav stared at Kohli, the monumental weight of the moment crashing over him. To be handed the reigns of the limited-overs team by Rohit Sharma was a massive honor. To be handed the reigns of the Test team by Virat Kohli the greatest Test captain in Indian history was an anointing.
Aarav didn't say a word. He stepped forward and wrapped Kohli in a fierce, bone-crushing hug. The entire dressing room erupted into a thunderous standing ovation. Rohit Sharma whistled loudly, Jasprit Bumrah applauded with a wide smile, and Rahul Dravid nodded in profound approval.
At just twenty-three years old, Aarav Pathak had become the undisputed, all-format commander-in-chief of the most powerful cricketing nation on earth.
Time Skip: Two Months Later. Late May, 2024.
The relentless, grueling machine of the Indian Premier League waits for no man, not even a newly crowned all-format captain.
The 2024 IPL season had been an absolute rollercoaster of high-scoring thrillers and dramatic collapses. For the Gujarat Titans, led by Aarav Pathak, the campaign was a grinding battle of attrition. They were the defending two-time champions, possessing a roster that struck fear into the hearts of opponents.
But cricket, especially the T20 format, is a fickle, unforgiving mistress.
The Titans had fought their way into the playoffs with their usual swagger. However, in Qualifier 2, the suffocating Chennai heat and an inspired, tactical masterclass by the Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders proved to be their undoing. Despite Aarav's heroic 65 off 28 balls, the GT middle order collapsed against the mystery spin of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy.
GT bowed out of the tournament. The three-peat dream was dead.
Two days later, Aarav sat in the private, air-conditioned VIP box of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, watching the IPL Final unfold.
Down on the pitch, KKR was executing a flawless demolition job against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Under the aggressive, unapologetic mentorship of Gautam Gambhir, KKR chased down SRH's paltry total of 113 in just 10.3 overs.
As Shreyas Iyer lifted the IPL trophy amidst a storm of purple and gold confetti, Aarav leaned back in his leather chair, taking a slow sip of his sparkling water.
"You hate this, don't you?"
Aarav glanced to his left. Shradha, wearing a sleek black summer dress, was watching him with a knowing, amused smile.
"Hate what?" Aarav asked innocently, setting his glass down.
"Watching someone else lift a trophy," Shradha smirked, leaning closer. "You've won it two years in a row. Now you're sitting in a box while Shreyas gets the confetti. Your jaw has been clenched for the last twenty minutes."
Aarav chuckled, running a hand through his dark hair. The sting of the Qualifier 2 loss was real. The Prince was a man conditioned to win, to bend timelines to his will. Losing felt alien, a bitter pill that refused to go down easily.
"I'm happy for Shreyas," Aarav admitted, his eyes returning to the celebrations on the field. "He led them brilliantly. And Gambhir's tactical mindset is phenomenal. But... yeah. I despise losing."
He turned his gaze away from the field, looking out over the stadium lights.
"But maybe we needed this," Aarav murmured, his voice turning cold and calculating. "We won the World Cup in November. We whitewashed England. Maybe we got a little too comfortable. A little too arrogant. This loss... it resets the hunger."
Shradha rested her hand over his, her thumb gently stroking his knuckles. She felt the sudden, terrifying shift in his kinetic energy. The IPL was over. The franchise colors were fading. The blue jersey was calling.
"The T20 World Cup," Shradha said softly.
"Next month," Aarav nodded, a dangerous fire igniting in his dark eyes. "In the USA and the West Indies. The loss in Adelaide in 2022 still burns, Shradha. I've got the 50-over crown. I've got the Test mace. Now, I want the T20 crown back."
May 21st, 2024. BCCI Headquarters, Mumbai.
The boardroom on the top floor of the BCCI headquarters was a sanctuary of absolute power. The massive mahogany table, polished to a mirror finish, was surrounded by plush leather executive chairs. The walls were adorned with framed, iconic moments of Indian cricket history: Kapil Dev lifting the Prudential Cup in '83, Dhoni's six in 2011, Kohli with 2019 trophy, and directly in the center, the Invincibles lifting the 2023 World Cup in Patra City.
Today, the room was tasked with forging the next chapter of that history.
Sitting at the head of the table wasn't the BCCI Secretary, Jay Shah, nor the Chief Selector, Ajit Agarkar.
Sitting at the head of the table was Aarav Pathak. He was just three months shy of his twenty-fourth birthday, yet he commanded the room with the gravity of a seasoned, ten-year veteran. He was dressed in team travelling jersey.
To his immediate right sat the brain trust: Head Coach Rahul Dravid and Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar.
To his left sat the experience, the men who had walked the path before him. Rohit Sharma, leaning back comfortably in his chair, twirling a pen. And Virat Kohli, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes sharp and focused.
Jay Shah sat at the opposite end of the table, flanked by the rest of the national selection committee.
The atmosphere in the room was a potent mix of immense respect and high-stakes tension. This wasn't a standard bilateral series selection. This was the squad for the ICC T20 World Cup.
"Alright, gentlemen," Ajit Agarkar began, clearing his throat and tapping a button on his remote. The massive digital screen on the wall flared to life, displaying a blank grid of fifteen empty slots.
"We are heading to the USA and the Caribbean," Agarkar stated, looking around the room. "The pitches in New York are dropping-in tracks, a complete unknown variable. The pitches in the West Indies are expected to be slow, turning, and abrasive. It's a tournament that will demand extreme flexibility and brutal power-hitting."
Agarkar looked directly at Aarav.
"Aarav, you took over the T20I captaincy officially earlier this year. You made it very clear in our preliminary discussions that you wanted a specific, aggressive blueprint for this format. You wanted 'The Invincibles 2.0'. Today, we finalize the fifteen men who will execute that blueprint."
Aarav leaned forward, resting his elbows on the polished mahogany. He didn't look at the blank screen; he looked at the men in the room.
"The template is simple, Ajit," Aarav said, his voice steady, carrying an absolute, uncompromising authority. "In 2022, we played conservative cricket, and we were punished for it. In this World Cup, we do not take a backward step. I don't want accumulators in the top order. I want destructors."
Aarav glanced to his left, nodding respectfully at his predecessor. "Rohit Bhai built the foundation of that fearlessness in the 50-over World Cup. We are going to multiply it by ten for the T20 format. If we lose three wickets in the powerplay, our number five batsman will still walk out trying to hit the first ball he faces for a six. That is the non-negotiable mindset."
Rohit Sharma smiled, tapping his pen against the table. "Music to my ears, Seth. You can't win T20 tournaments playing scared."
"Exactly," Virat Kohli agreed, his eyes narrowing. "The game has evolved past strike rates of 130. We need guys who can strike at 150 or 160 from ball one. But," Kohli added, raising a finger, "we also need experience to handle the high-pressure situations when the collapse inevitably happens on those tricky West Indian tracks."
"Which brings us to the actual names," Dravid interjected calmly, adjusting his glasses. The 'Wall' was always the voice of balance. "We have a core group that is guaranteed. But the permutations for the opening slots, the wicket-keeper debate, and the spin-bowling all-rounders... that is where this meeting will get complicated."
-----------------------------------------------------
The air conditioning in the BCCI boardroom was set to a crisp twenty degrees, but the tension in the room made it feel suffocatingly hot.
On the massive digital screen taking up the entire back wall, seven slots on the fifteen-man roster grid were glowing in solid, undeniable blue.
Aarav Pathak (C)
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Suryakumar Yadav
Hardik Pandya
Jasprit Bumrah
Arshdeep Singh
"These seven are non-negotiable. The absolute core," Ajit Agarkar stated, tapping his digital stylus against the mahogany table. "We have our captain, our two senior stalwarts, the 360 degreeT20 batter in the world is Surya, our premier all-rounder, and our lead pace battery. That leaves us with eight slots to fill to complete the squad for the USA and the West Indies."
Agarkar swiped his tablet, and four names appeared on the side of the screen under the heading: Wicket-Keepers.
Ishan Kishan
Sanju Samson
Rishabh Pant
KL Rahul
"We need to carry two frontline wicket-keepers," Dravid observed, folding his hands on the table. "Rishabh's miraculous return to fitness and his brilliant IPL form makes him an automatic inclusion. He gives us that left-handed X-factor in the middle order. But the backup slot is where we have a massive headache."
Agarkar nodded. "Sanju Samson has had a phenomenal IPL leading the Royals. But Sanju is a top-order player, and our top order as we will discuss shortly—is incredibly crowded. Ishan gives us a left-handed opening option, but his recent domestic consistency is a question mark."
Agarkar paused, looking directly at Aarav.
"Which brings us to KL Rahul," the Chief Selector said carefully. "He has the experience, he can bat anywhere from opening to number five, and he was the interim captain of this very side while you and Rohit were resting. I propose we lock in Rishabh Pant as our primary, and KL Rahul as our reliable, experienced backup."
A heavy, profound silence fell over the boardroom.
Rohit Sharma leaned back in his chair, twirling his pen, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. Virat Kohli simply crossed his arms, waiting for the inevitable.
Aarav Pathak didn't look at the screen. He looked dead into Agarkar's eyes.
"No," Aarav said.
It wasn't a suggestion. It was an absolute, cold, definitive veto.
Agarkar blinked, slightly taken aback by the sheer bluntness of the refusal. "Aarav, I understand you want aggression, but KL brings unparalleled stability"
"Ajit Sir," Aarav interrupted, his voice smooth but carrying the undeniable gravity of the all-format captain. "I have immense, bottomless respect for KL Bhai. He is one of the most technically gifted batters our country has ever produced. But we are not selecting a squad for stability. We are selecting a squad for a T20 World Cup."
Aarav tapped a button on his tablet. The screen changed, displaying a complex matrix of strike rates, entry-point statistics, and boundary percentages from the last two years of T20 cricket.
"The criticism regarding KL Bhai's strike rate in the shortest format isn't just media noise; it is a statistical reality," Aarav explained coldly. "In the powerplay, he takes too many balls to settle. If he bats at five, he struggles to hit the ground running against spin. If I have Rishabh Pant getting injured, I cannot have a backup keeper who takes fifteen balls to find his rhythm on slow Caribbean pitches. I need someone who can hit a six on the second ball he faces."
Agarkar frowned, leaning forward. "Aarav, KL was the captain of the T20I side just four months ago. Dropping the immediate past interim captain from the World Cup squad entirely sends a terrible message to the dressing room. It looks like instability."
"With all due respect to the selection committee," Aarav fired back, "KL Bhai should not have been the interim captain in the first place. That was a conservative administrative call. If you wanted a placeholder for the T20s while I was resting, the armband should have gone to Hardik or Surya. They embody the T20 philosophy I want."
Rahul Dravid sighed softly, ever the diplomat. "It's a harsh call, Aarav. Rahul has bled for this team."
"And I will personally ensure he knows his value in Tests and ODIs," Aarav replied, his tone softening just a fraction out of respect for Dravid. "Let him rest. I will fly to his house and talk to him myself. I will handle the fallout. But he is not boarding the flight to New York."
Aarav swiped on his pad, highlighting the two names he wanted.
"Rishabh Pant is our primary. Sanju Samson is our backup," Aarav declared. "Sanju might be a top-order player for his franchise, but he has the purest bat swing against spin in the country. If we need him at number four or five, he doesn't need to get his eye in. He clears the ropes effortlessly. Pant and Samson. Lock them in."
Agarkar looked at Dravid. Dravid nodded slowly. The Chief Selector sighed, tapping his stylus. The screen glowed blue.
Rishabh Pant (WK)
Sanju Samson (WK)
"Right then," Agarkar muttered, clearing his throat. "Let's move to the spin department. The pitches in the West Indies, particularly in Guyana and Barbados, are expected to be slow, low, and gripping. We need a robust spin cartel."
The screen flashed a list of names: Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy.
"We can carry three spinners," Agarkar stated. "My proposal is Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. Jadeja gives us absolute three-dimensional balance, Axar is our like-for-like backup who is currently in better hitting form, and Kuldeep is our premier wrist-spinner."
Aarav stared at the list.
"Where is Yuzi?" Aarav asked softly.
Agarkar hesitated. "Yuzvendra Chahal is a brilliant bowler, Aarav, but his recent T20I economy rate has been a concern. He leaks runs. And more importantly, he offers absolutely zero utility with the bat or in the field. In modern T20 cricket, carrying a pure, one-dimensional number eleven is a massive liability."
"He leaks runs?" Aarav repeated, letting out a dark, humorless chuckle. He stood up from his chair, slowly pacing toward the massive digital screen.
"Ajit bhai" Aarav said, pointing at the statistics. "Yuzvendra Chahal is the third-highest wicket-taker in the history of Indian T20I cricket, right behind myself and Arshdeep. You are looking at his economy rate on flat, absolute belters in the IPL. We are not playing the World Cup at the Rajiv Gandhi or Wankhade Stadium."
Aarav turned around to face the boardroom.
"We are playing in the USA, where the drop-in pitches will likely be two-paced, and the West Indies, where the ball will grip and stop," Aarav explained, his tactical supercomputer brain painting the picture for them. "On those pitches, you don't need a defensive spinner who darts the ball in at 95 kilometers per hour. The batters will just wait and punch them for singles. On those pitches, you need a spinner who tosses the ball up above the eyeline. You need a wrist-spinner who forces the batter to generate their own power."
Aarav walked back to his chair, placing his hands flat on the mahogany table, looming over the selectors.
"I don't care if Yuzi goes for thirty-five runs in his four overs," Aarav said with absolute, chilling conviction. "Because in the middle overs, when a set batter is trying to take the game away from us, Yuzi will buy me a wicket. He is not afraid to get hit for a six to get a stumping on the next ball. I want attacking spinners. Not containers."
Rohit Sharma nodded in emphatic agreement. "The kid is right, Ajit. In Australia in '22, we went in without Yuzi and we couldn't take wickets in the middle overs. It cost us the semi-final. You need a genuine leg-spinner in the Caribbean."
"But what about the balance?" Agarkar argued. "If we take Kuldeep and Chahal, and we play them both, our tail is incredibly long. Which means we have to pick between Axar and Jadeja for the spin all-rounder slot."
Aarav didn't flinch. "Then we drop Jadeja."
A collective gasp echoed in the room. Dropping Ravindra Jadeja from a World Cup squad was borderline sacrilege.
"Jaddu Bhai is a legend," Aarav clarified immediately, respecting the veteran. "But in T20Is, his strike rate against spin in the middle overs has stagnated. Axar Patel is currently a far superior power-hitter. Axar can bat at number five or number eight. He gives us the exact same left-arm orthodox control as Jaddu, but with a much higher ceiling with the bat in this specific format."
Dravid removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes. The Prince was ruthless. He was dismantling emotional attachments with pure, cold, mathematical logic.
"Kuldeep Yadav. Yuzvendra Chahal. Axar Patel," Aarav finalized. "That is our spin trio."
Agarkar looked at the rest of the committee. No one argued. They couldn't. The logic was watertight.
The screen updated.
Kuldeep Yadav
Yuzvendra Chahal
Axar Patel
"Three slots left," Agarkar breathed out, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "We need a backup opener, and we need to finalize the middle-order finishers. Let's talk about the backup opener. We have Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Abhishek Sharma."
"Abhishek Sharma has had an unbelievable IPL," Dravid noted. "His strike rate in the powerplay is terrifying. And Varun Chakravarthy has been phenomenal with his mystery spin. We should consider them."
"Not yet," Aarav shook his head. "Abhishek and Varun (although he has 2022 world cup, but not continuous experience) have absolutely zero international pressure experience. You do not throw a debutant into a World Cup in the Caribbean. We fast-track both of them into the bilateral squads the literal day after this World Cup ends. But for this tournament, we need guys who have worn the blue jersey."
"So, it comes down to Gill and Jaiswal," Rohit mused, leaning forward. "Gill is my opening partner in ODIs and Tests. He's class."
"Shub is my good friend," Aarav said softly, looking at the screen. "But he is not opening for us in this World Cup."
Rohit raised an eyebrow. "You're dropping Shubman?"
"I am putting him in the reserves," Aarav corrected. "Look at our squad. We have you, Skip. We have Virat Bhai. And we have me. We already have three of the greatest right-handed anchors/accumulators in the history of the sport. If we play Gill, the top order becomes too one-dimensional. Too right-handed. Too classical."
Aarav pointed his stylus at the screen.
"I need pure, unadulterated intent. I need a left-hander who does not know how to take a backward step. Yashasvi Jaiswal will walk out in New York and try to hit Mitchell Starc over point on the first ball. That is the fearlessness we need. Jaiswal is our backup opener."
The screen blinked.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
"Two slots remaining," Agarkar said, the end in sight. "The finishers. The muscle."
"Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh," Aarav said instantly. "No debate."
"Dube's footwork against extreme pace is a known weakness," a selector from the end of the table chimed in bravely.
"I don't care about his footwork," Aarav retorted. "I care about the fact that if a left-arm spinner or a leg-spinner comes on in the 12th over, Shivam Dube will stand still and launch them 100 meters into the stands without moving his feet. He is our designated spin-hitter. If the pitch is slow, Dube is our trump card."
"And Rinku?" Dravid asked, though a small smile suggested he already knew the answer.
"Rinku Singh is our 'Break Glass in Case of Emergency' player," Aarav smiled, a genuine warmth entering his eyes. "He is a small package containing a nuclear bomb. He averages over 70 in T20Is with a strike rate of 170. If we are 40 for 4, Rinku will save us. If we need 28 off the last over, Rinku will win it for us. Lock them both."
Shivam Dube
Rinku Singh
The fifteen-man squad was complete. The digital grid on the wall was fully illuminated in blue.
Agarkar sat back, exhausted but thoroughly impressed. "It is an incredibly aggressive squad, Aarav. But the combinations... how do we fit them all into a playing eleven? Who opens?"
Aarav walked to the head of the table. He pressed a sequence on his datapad, and the screen transitioned from the squad list to a tactical green field.
"The beauty of this fifteen is that it allows us to play three distinct XIs depending on the venue," Aarav explained, slipping effortlessly into the role of a grandmaster.
"Let's look at the opening combination," Aarav said, looking directly at Rohit and Virat. "For the last two years, people have debated whether Virat Bhai should open in T20s. Well, the debate ends today. In this World Cup, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will open the batting for India."
Virat's eyes widened slightly, a fierce, predatory grin breaking across his bearded face. "I love it."
"Virat Bhai opening allows us to maximize the powerplay while fielding an extra hitter in the middle order," Aarav continued. "Now, here are the combinations."
Aarav swiped the screen.
SCENARIO 1: The Traditional Slow Pitch (Batting deep till 7)
1. Rohit Sharma
2. Virat Kohli
3. Aarav Pathak
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Rishabh Pant
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Axar Patel
8. Kuldeep Yadav
9. Jasprit Bumrah
10. Arshdeep Singh
11. Yuzvendra Chahal
"If the pitch is an absolute dustbowl in Guyana," Aarav explained, "we play all three spinners. Axar bats at seven. We rely on the top six to do the heavy lifting, and we choke them with spin."
He swiped again.
SCENARIO 2: The Nassau County Unknown (Batting till 8 - The Primary XI)
1. Rohit Sharma
2. Virat Kohli
3. Aarav Pathak
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Rishabh Pant
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Rinku Singh
8. Axar Patel
9. Jasprit Bumrah
10. Arshdeep Singh
11. Kuldeep Yadav
"This is our most likely template," Aarav stated firmly. "In New York, we don't know what the drop-in pitch will do. So we pack the batting. Rinku comes in at seven. Axar at eight. We have batting deep, we have three genuine pacers with Hardik as the fourth, and two elite spinners. It is perfectly balanced."
He swiped one final time.
SCENARIO 3: The Dallas Flat Track (Pace & Power Focus)
1. Rohit Sharma
2. Virat Kohli
3. Aarav Pathak
4. Suryakumar Yadav
5. Rishabh Pant
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Rinku Singh
8. Shivam Dube
9. Axar Patel
10. Jasprit Bumrah
11. Arshdeep Singh
"If we play in Dallas, or on a flat deck in St. Lucia where 220 is par, we drop the wrist spin entirely," Aarav said, his eyes gleaming. "We play Dube. We have batting till number nine. We just try to out-hit the opposition."
Aarav turned off the datapad. The screen behind him faded to the BCCI logo.
He looked around the room at the legends, the selectors, and the coaches who had entrusted him with the most powerful throne in world cricket.
"We lost in Adelaide in 2022 because we played scared," Aarav said, his voice a low, echoing rumble in the quiet boardroom. "We played conservative cricket in a format that demands ruthlessness. That ends now."
Aarav looked at Rohit, then at Virat.
"You built this fortress. Now, we take it global. We go to the Americas, and we do not take a single backward step. Are we clear?"
Rohit Sharma slammed his hand onto the mahogany table, standing up with a massive smile. "Crystal clear, Skipper. Let's go win a World Cup."
The meeting was adjourned. The blueprint was finalized. The Invincibles 2.0 were assembled, and the Prince of Cricket was ready to lead his empire to war.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donate Power Stone pls and write review to increase the reach of the story!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Note: - 6300+ Words
For More Future Chapters: -
My Patreon: -
https://www.patreon.com/c/Kynstra
Thank you very much for all the support and donate power stones!!
Do Comment, anything just comments and Donate Power stone!!