Success didn't arrive loudly.
It crept in through questions.
---
The first came from a journalist in the hotel lobby.
"Do you see yourself as RCB's future No. 3?"
Aarav smiled politely and kept walking.
He didn't answer.
Not because he didn't know what to say—
But because he wasn't ready to believe it himself.
---
The next few matches blurred together.
Not in performance.
In attention.
Cameras lingered longer.
Microphones appeared earlier.
Commentators began saying his name before he touched the ball.
He noticed.
He tried not to listen.
---
## IPL MATCH – RCB vs RAJASTHAN ROYALS (SECOND FIXTURE)
This one was tight.
Chasing under lights.
Required rate climbing.
Aarav walked in with RCB slightly behind.
The crowd felt nervous.
He felt… steady.
---
He didn't start fast.
He didn't need to.
Singles first.
Then twos.
Boundaries came only when offered.
Watson tried to rush him.
Warne tried to slow him.
Aarav stayed somewhere in between.
---
When he reached thirty, a chant started.
His name.
He felt it in his chest.
For a split second, he wanted to give them something special.
He stopped himself.
That urge—
That's where players got lost.
---
He fell on forty-three, caught in the deep.
Not a mistake.
Just timing.
RCB won two overs later.
The dugout exhaled.
---
## POST-MATCH
In the dressing room, a reporter asked Dravid, not Aarav:
"Is he ready for international T20 cricket?"
Dravid paused before answering.
"He's learning when not to hit," he said.
"That's usually the last lesson."
Aarav heard that.
He didn't smile.
He stored it.
---
## NIGHT – HOTEL ROOM
He lay on the bed, phone face down.
Messages unread.
Mentions ignored.
He remembered his father's words again.
*Every level gives you one bad day.
Then one good run.
Then noise.*
This was the noise part.
---
A knock came at the door.
Kallis.
"You're thinking too much," he said, stepping inside.
"That means you care."
Aarav nodded.
"Just don't start playing for applause," Kallis added.
"It fades."
---
After Kallis left, Aarav sat by the window.
City lights stretched endlessly.
Somewhere between the dark streets and the floodlit stadiums, he understood something important.
Talent gets you noticed.
Control keeps you there.
---
The playoffs were coming.
And now, people weren't wondering *who* he was.
They were wondering *how far* he could go.