Matches create reputations.
Nets expose truths.
---
## BANGALORE – RCB TRAINING FACILITY
**Three days before IPL opener**
The sun was already harsh by eight in the morning.
Bangalore heat didn't announce itself.
It pressed down.
Relentless.
Unforgiving.
Aarav adjusted the straps on his gloves as he stepped onto the practice ground in RCB colors for the first time.
Red didn't feel like blue.
Blue carried history.
Red carried expectation.
Different weight.
Sharper edges.
---
## FIRST IMPRESSION – NO INTRODUCTIONS
No welcome speech.
No applause.
Just routines.
Kallis was already shadow-batting.
Pietersen was laughing loudly near the physio table.
Kumble stood with folded arms, watching bowlers warm up like a man counting flaws, not deliveries.
Aarav placed his kit bag down quietly.
No one looked up.
And that, strangely, felt right.
---
## THE SYSTEM – QUIET BUT ALERT
The interface flickered faintly.
> **ENVIRONMENTAL SHIFT:**
> Performance judged daily
> Patience threshold: Franchise-dependent
> Emotional buffering: Minimal
Aarav acknowledged it without reacting.
For once, the system wasn't wrong.
---
## NET SESSION – ROUND ONE
"Malhotra, you're in Net Two," the assistant coach called.
Net Two.
Fast bowlers.
No freebies.
He walked in, helmet on, bat tapping once against the crease.
First bowler ran in.
Good pace.
Hard length.
Aarav defended.
Solid.
Straight.
Second ball—seamed away.
Beat the edge.
Third—short.
He ducked.
The bowler smiled slightly.
Aarav smiled back.
This wasn't hostility.
This was examination.
---
## WATCHING EYES
From behind the net, he felt it.
Dravid.
Kumble.
The batting coach.
Not talking.
Not reacting.
Just watching.
Not for shots.
For habits.
---
## THE MOMENT THAT TIGHTENED EVERYTHING
Fourth delivery.
Fuller.
Inviting.
Aarav drove.
Clean.
Too clean.
The sound echoed sharply.
Kallis glanced up.
Pietersen stopped talking mid-sentence.
The ball rocketed into the netting.
Aarav reset immediately.
No flourish.
But his heartbeat picked up.
He had announced himself.
Now came the response.
---
## THE BOWLER'S ANSWER
Next ball.
Slower.
Cutter.
Aarav didn't pick it.
Early swing.
Inside edge.
Onto pad.
The bowler appealed out of habit.
Aarav stood still.
That hesitation lingered longer than the appeal itself.
Dravid made a note.
---
## SYSTEM – MICRO ALERT
> **READING VARIATION:**
> Delay detected
> Adaptation required
Aarav exhaled.
He knew.
---
## ROTATION – NET THREE
Spin this time.
Kumble himself took the ball.
Not to bowl seriously.
To test.
First ball—flighted leg-break.
Aarav went forward.
Smothered it.
Second—quicker.
Hit the pad.
Third—top-spinner.
Ball dipped late.
Aarav jabbed defensively.
Not convincing.
Kumble nodded slowly.
Not impressed.
Not disappointed.
Evaluating.
---
## A WORD FROM DRAVID
Dravid walked over.
Not during the session.
After it.
"You're rushing your decisions," he said quietly.
Aarav nodded.
Dravid continued,
"In internationals, you had time because the role was shared."
He paused.
"Here, it won't be."
That wasn't criticism.
That was orientation.
---
## BREAK – THE LONELIEST TEN MINUTES
Aarav sat on the boundary rope, towel over his head.
Laughter echoed from elsewhere.
Jokes.
Familiarity.
He felt like a transfer student mid-term.
Bought.
Not bonded.
The system flickered again.
> **SOCIAL INTEGRATION:**
> Incomplete
> Performance priority elevated
Aarav ignored it.
He knew connection would come later.
Or not at all.
---
## NET SESSION – ROUND TWO (THE REAL TEST)
The coaches signaled for match simulation.
Powerplay overs.
Fielders placed.
Bowler instructed to go hard.
Aarav took strike.
First ball—yorker attempt.
Missed slightly.
He dug it out.
Single.
Good.
Second—short.
He pulled.
Not hard.
Placed.
Two runs.
Third—length.
He drove on the up.
Risky.
Executed.
Four.
A murmur.
This was better.
---
## PRESSURE DELIVERY
Bowler went wide of the crease.
Angle in.
Aarav's instinct screamed *hit*.
His mind said *wait*.
He waited.
Defended.
The bowler cursed under his breath.
That felt like a win.
---
## SYSTEM – ALIGNMENT RESTORED
> **DECISION LATENCY:** Improved
> **INSTINCT–LOGIC BALANCE:** Stabilizing
Aarav didn't smile.
But he felt lighter.
---
## A SMALL MOMENT OF HUMANITY
Pietersen walked past him between drills.
"World Cup boy," he said casually,
"you play spin better than you think."
Aarav blinked.
"Thanks," he replied.
Pietersen grinned.
"Don't thank me. Prove me right."
That was the closest thing to acceptance so far.
---
## FINAL BALL OF THE DAY
One last delivery.
Fast.
Full.
Tail in.
Aarav trusted himself.
Drove.
Timed.
Along the ground.
Past the imaginary fielder.
Perfect.
Kumble nodded once.
Just once.
But that was enough.
---
## AFTER PRACTICE – THE BODY SPEAKS
Back in the dressing room, Aarav sat quietly, removing tape from his wrists.
His forearms ached.
His shoulders burned.
Not from fatigue.
From tension.
Dravid sat beside him.
"You'll play," he said calmly.
Aarav looked up.
"But," Dravid added,
"your first bad game here will be louder than your first good one."
Aarav absorbed that.
"I know," he said.
Dravid smiled faintly.
"Good. Then you're ready."
---
## NIGHT – HOTEL ROOM, BANGALORE
Aarav lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling fan again.
Different city.
Same motion.
The system opened quietly.
> **STATUS:**
> Matchday probability: High
> Role clarity: Pending
> Emotional load: Manageable
He closed it.
Not out of defiance.
Out of confidence.
---
## ENDING NOTE
Nets didn't cheer.
They didn't boo.
They just reflected.
And what Aarav saw today wasn't perfect.
But it was real.
And real, in this league, was enough to survive—
Until it wasn't.
---
**END OF CHAPTER 88**