The ICT plays Matchmaking | An Ishman fanfiction

A plan in making

It's mid June and a scorching hot day in Mumbai. The players are a little grateful that they are Indians and are born and grown up tolerating this heat. Unlike the light skinned Brits who are touring in India for a Test and ODI series with red tomato faces. But nonetheless, they are already dying to fly to Dharamshala for their next Test.

Sitting right now on ice buckets or on chairs or simply on the grass in between their practice sessions, literally everybody is busy chugging down cool water or electrolytes and fanning themselves with wet towels over their head. The coaches can see the rapidly emptying bottle from the ice. It's not like they can prohibit the players much regarding their intake of cold water, it's more like they are allowing them this liberty after a real hard practice session.

It is KL who first broaches the topic.

He is sitting on the grass, his muscled legs spread across the grass, at least three plastic bottles are lying around him and a wet towel over his shoulders.

"Tell me it's going out of hand. I KNOW y'all will say too it's going out of hand!" He speaks out to the group all sitting together while having this deadpanned expression on his face, looking ahead probably nowhere in the vast stadium of Wankhede.

"What's getting out of hand Rahuliya?" Siraj asks tiredly. Honestly, he also wanted a break to only savour the cool sugary drinks down his throat, not about whatever Rahul is trying to bring up.

"That Shub has gone a little more sweet on our Ishan?"

The distinct chatter and laughter of the ICT drops down sharply the moment the words come out from KL's mouth. So much so, even KL turned around to look at the group. No doubt that expressions of various degrees of shock, sympathy, defeated and downright raised eyebrows conveying 'really?' are thrown at him once he looked at them.

"WHAT?"

"Nothing." Virat snorts. "Just that you took long enough."

"Never took you as a tube-light Rahuliya." Siraj quips as some of the boys laughs out, before all them turn their head to look ahead at the scene unfolding in front of them. 

Shubman and Ishan are sitting a little apart from the team on the grass, talking and engrossed in their own world. Shubman is massaging Ishan's right palm while a sparkly-eyed Ishan is talking about God knows what, while sipping on the last bottle of electrolytes left that Shub had taken from the ice basket some minutes ago.

Some of the team-members make faces or some others just cringe over how utterly and pathetically lovesick Gill looks while gazing at Ishan.

"I can bet my whole annual salary that Gilly is hearing none of the words Ishu is rambling." Hardik tuts.

"No shit, Harry."

"But aren't they always like this?" Ash asks.

"Yeah" KL frustratingly says, "but after the IPL break it has only increased. It was not like this before. It's a little different now."

"See they are already best friends and they have met after a long time. They were not together during the IPL, then there was a two weeks break.."

"I agree" Virat interrupts Rohit, "but their interactions are different now. Not only did Shubman come to take the last bottle for Ishan, have you guys noticed how he always serves Ishan's plate during dinner." He looks just in time to see Ishan snuggling into Shubman's neck and giggling. "Or lunch now."