The BCCI delayed the squad selection for the Asia Cup well beyond the original deadline to give Rahul and Shreyas a chance to clear the fitness test. They'd both cleared the batting one, but Rahul had to check if he was up to keeping for 50 overs, and Shreyas up to fielding for as long, and even if they hadn't been recovering from serious injuries, it would've been a daunting task after not playing for this long.
They cleared the test the same day and even before they'd cooled down, the NCA had sent the good news to the selection committee and Ajit Agarkar released the official statement that KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were open for selection.
Within an hour, the squad was declared, too, with both their names in it.
Rahul and Shreyas were too drained emotionally to do anything much but smile tiredly at each other.
Rohit called Rahul within a minute.
"I told you you'd clear it before--"
But Shreyas snatched the phone, demanding, "Why did you call him first, Rohit bhaiya?"
"Yas--" said Rohit, thrown off. "No, I was just...just about to call you, too..."
"But you called him first!"
Rahul hid a smile. This was nothing new: Shreyas always acted like an entitled brat when it came to Rohit.
"Yeah, I called him first because--because--er, you're going to play at Number 4, higher up the order than him, so he should have something, you know?"
While Shreyas was working out whether it was sarcasm or not (how many brain cells must he possess if he had to think?), Rahul took his phone back.
"Did you come up with a back up plan, though?" he asked innocently.
"Silence," thundered Rohit.
___________________
Virat received a very excited, all-caps message from Rohit when he was driving home from a friend's place.
Rohit: I GOT IT
Virat: Got what?
Rohit: THE TEAM I WANTED
Rohit: EACH ONE OF THEM
Virat: 'It'? What are we, animate objects?
Then Virat's head cleared.
Virat: WHEN DID RAHULIYA AND SHREYA CLEAR THE TEST?
Rohit: Couple of hours back
Virat: Best news in
Rohit: Certainly this year for me
Rohit: Now we just have to protect the idiots till the World Cup
__________________
The day the team had the flight to Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup, Virat reached the airport first. He was always amongst the earlier arrivers, anyway; and he remained on his toes waiting for another of the earlier arrivers till he did.
Rahul came into the waiting lobby when only a few were present. His gaze straightaway found Virat's. Maybe he'd been on his toes too, Virat thought naively, though it wasn't likely.
It was strange seeing Rahul after so long. Four months. Four months since they'd met, that too in the surgery ward, which Virat doubted counted as meeting.
Even during the lockdown, they used to meet more frequently.
Rahul came and took the seat next to Virat's, the corner of his mouth lifting in an awkward smile, if you could call it a smile.
Virat smiled back uncertainly as Rahul looked at him and waited. He thought it was unfair how he always waited and Virat was the one who had to break the silence.
It was clearly not a fair division of responsibility.
He remembered the same with Rohit; whenever they had to attend a formal event and make small talk with a stranger, Rohit would be complacently silent, leaving Virat to do all the hard work. Like he was so great at making small talk.
Small talk.
Small talk.
Why was the world collapsing so fast?
Rahul must have realized Virat was not going to say anything, so he finally said, "Hello, Virat, how are you?"
"Um, I'm fine." Virat's tone came out formal (maybe because it wasn't used to lying). "Glad your hamstring made it in time."
"Yeah, me too."
"Everyone in the country, probably." Virat recalled the way some cricket shows had debated Rahul and Shreyas' inclusion citing lack of game time. "The ones with sense," he amended.
Rahul smiled very slightly, in a wooden way.
"I heard you're about to have a baby," he said. "Congrats."
"Technically, I'm not about to have a baby--wait, you know?"
"Yes. Anushka told me."
He left the 'and you didn't' hanging in the air.
Well, it's not like you told me when you took the fitness test and when you cleared it. It's not like you told me when Ajit sir called you and said you're going to be part of the squad.
Where on earth would this blaming game take them, anyway?
Stop blaming him, stop blaming yourself and talk of something meaningful.
Virat spoke the first meaningful thing that came to his head.
"Both of us are hoping for a boy this time. Though it's okay if it's a girl, too."
Something flickered in Rahul's eyes.
Surely he hadn't said anything wrong, Virat thought in panic.
"I know," said Rahul. "Anushka was saying that...and to most people, elder sister-younger brother is the best combination."
"Definitely to the ones who are part of that combination," said Virat solemnly.
Rahul's grin was genuine this time.
Maybe things weren't as bad as Virat had perceived them to be.
Or maybe they were, because he couldn't think of what to say next, and neither apparently did Rahul.
When the rest of the team started arriving in bunches, Virat could tell Rahul was also kind of glad as the noise in the waiting lobby rose above the silence between them.
__________________
Rohit forced them to take seats together in the flight. His expression made it clear he'd start asking weird questions loudly if either of them protested. Neither did, however.
Over the entire duration of the flight, Rahul slept. Even though he always slept on flights, Virat wondered if he was only pretending to sleep today.
Sleep felt so far away from Virat's eyes with the boy--the man--he loved with all his heart sitting next to him and yet being so, so far away.
If Rahul hadn't been pretending to sleep, Virat would have had to. And since he hated pretense of any sort, Virat supposed he was grateful.
YOU ARE READING
Beyond the Meadows (A HulRat Fanfiction)
Fanfiction"Maybe," said Rahul. "Maybe things aren't meant to be the same forever." "Maybe," said Virat. He didn't believe it, and yet he did. Because the 31-year-old man addressing him was KL Rahul, an Indian cricket hero, a husband and an adult, and not Rah...
