That morning, Prince tossed awake at his usual timing of 4:30 am, the sun was not up just yet, but he went about his business making himself presentable. Prince went down to the complementary hotel gym, which was less extensive than the on he had at hime but was enough to challenge him... after two hours of relentless weights and cardio, Prince went upstairs and back to his room where he pulled on some large tracksuit bottoms and more fresh muscle shirt before going ona jog, registering the time in his head as 6:45 am. He paused once in front of Aru's door... but there would be time to talk later.
Prince ran through the streets of Bengaluru, which seemed to be limbering up for a day of noise and traffic, he ran along the coast and after about an hour, paused in front of a small tea stall, he bought a cup and sat on the bench near it, sipping quietly and enjoying the risen sun, basking in the rays. He opened up the system. Because this was the time.
Prince navigated through the augmented reality screens that only he could see floating in front of him, until he found and activated the store...
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Store:
Current Point Rate: (Tier 5): 10 point for Poor Match/ 50 for Average/ 100 for excellence/ 250 for excellence in elimination matches
Current Points: 2500
Virat Kohli's Temperament Protocol (450 SP): Enhances mental composure and drive under pressure, especially in run chases.
Jasprit Bumrah's Seam Control (500 SP): Perfect wrist angle management and subtle seam deviation for swing and cut.
Rahul Dravid's Defensive Integrity (450 SP): Reinforces concentration span, patience, and defensive precision.
Sehwag's Fearless Instinct (1000 SP): Removes fear-based hesitation before big strokes.
MS Dhoni's Game Sense Matrix (800 SP): Predicts bowling changes and field placements.
AB de Villiers' Adaptive Response (900 SP) Instantly recalibrates batting stance to any bowling type.
Adam Gilchrist's Keeper Reflexes (700 SP): Enhances catching and wicketkeeping reaction speed.
Reflex Chain+ Module (350 SP): Upgrades reflex network latency by 0.06 seconds.
Biochemical Recovery+ (400 SP): Triples recovery speed post-training.
Mental Stabilizer v2.1 (250 SP): Reduces emotional interference by 50% during performance.
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Prince having always been a terrible mathematician pulled out his phone to use as a calculator and find a combination of items he would like to buy, with the points he had collected so far.
He disregarded Gilchrist's keeping skills, as he wouldn't pursue a position as the wicket keeper of the team.
In the end Prince decided to spend on the following items:
Mental Stabilizer v2.1 (-250)
AB de Villiers' Adaptive Response (-900)
Jasprit Bumrah's Seam Control (-500)
Virat Kohli's Temperament Control (-450)
(400 Points Remain)
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Prince returned to his room, showered and got into his kit, the blue colour hugging his frame tight, displaying the muscles he worked so hard for, clearly the kit assigner got his size a bit wrong. When he walked out of his room he caught Aru leaving his room as well. For a second time seemed to stop, friends who have seen each other only sparingly over the last eight years met once again and emotions ran high until they broke the deadlock and hugged.
"Man I've missed you," choked out Prince.
"You missed me? I didn't miss you, all the time bowling me out in the nationals," Aru flashed his trademark grin and as the two settled out walked Shubman Gill who looked just as fresh as the others.
"Hey, you guys going to get breakfast?" the batsman asked.
Prince smiled and nodded, "Yeah, thought we'd eat something while we wait for the team bus, I think the others are downstairs already."
The three young men walked down the lengthy corridors of the hotel, already striking a friendship, discussing what could be the potential trial tasks, how they would face it and whatnot. All three of them were batsmen, Aru opened for Kerala, Gill opened for Punjab, and these days despite being an all rounder, Prince found himself playing as one down due to his heavy hitting nature.
As they arrived in the private dining area, the rest pf the team rose to exchange greetings.
Prince greeted Parag first, "What's up bhai, still think you're the hottest thing since SRK?"
Parag chuckled and mock swung at Prince before chuckling, "Still as annoying as ever Prince."
Prince took it in turns to meet the others and garnered a first impression of all the players...
Arshdeep was a bit of a troublemaker, clearly a very good bowler, as Prince had experience of batting against him, definitely the kind of guy that could break any ice between the team even if there wasn't any.
Tilak was flashy, and Prince knew him to be a big hitter, can be calm and composed under pressure, but at points, you don't want to provoke him, he had intense strength, and always for some reason not known to Prince, always knew the right thing to say...
Sai Sudarshan was all smiles and happiness, he was the exact opposite of the cold faced diamond in the rough that would not crack under relentless pressure from opposition, Sudarshan was the type of player you want to build a partnership with if you were the one with more runs. He would anchor an innings easily.
Khaleel Ahmed, was perhaps the most nervous, he is absolutely a bowler to be afraid off, if trapped in his rhythm, you won't be able to read his spin suddenly, and before you know it, you're wicket is gone... Ahmed was the shy kind but managed polite conversation and greetings.
Rishabh Pant, as round and cheeky as ever instantly had put his arms around prince, pouring him juice and pulling him into a seat. Behind the jokes and seemingly endless appetite, there lay a batsmen of ridiculous strength. Prince having been able to use Pant's one armed sixes, knew just how tiring it was to pull them off, but Pant littered them across his innings like they were simple cover drives.
Prithvi Shaw had a mature energy about him, Prince was wary that Shaw's batting was less explosive and more about steadying the innings and building a foundation for the innings too, another competitor for the opening spot. Shaw had an air of control and composure that warranted Prince's respect.
Last but by no means least is Washington Sundar. The team is definitely not lacking in all rounders, especially since they have someone so clinical, elegant, calm and composed as Sundar. With the bat and ball, his balance in skill was almost as perfect as Prince's, his skilled remained closer to bowling than batting, while Prince had an almost equal standing in both respects.
As the lads finished eating, the coach arrived and the players bundled on, Prince found himself between Aru and Gill, talking to each other around his body, the shining sun held promise and Prince's smile never faltered as the coach shook into life and rumbled out pf the hotel.