Will you stand by me?

Chapter 3 - The Strongest Oak Tree

Chapter 3 - The Strongest Oak Tree

"The strongest oak tree of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun" Napoleon Hill.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the ex-captain of the Indian Cricket Team, found himself in quite the quandary. With him resigning from the captaincy, he had thought that his days of having to attend boring conference calls with the BCCI and its stuffy members were a thing of the past but with the Skipper in absentia and the Vice-Captain sent after him, MS had called the doom upon himself.

"Am I audible, MS? MS?"

The (not so) dulcet tones of the person, whose name he had conveniently forgotten, brought MS out of his perceived misery and he managed a noncommittal sound at the back of his throat.

"Ah, yes. You are. Sir."

The honorific was tacked on at the end and it was pretty evident from his enunciation.

MS entertained himself for a moment imagining the bristled look that would have decorated the man's face and an inopportune bubble of laughter had to be forced down. 

"Where is the Skipper, MS? We are unable to get in touch with him." The same whiny, complaint riddled timbre and all of Mahi's exposed nerves jolted. This was the fourth time the question was being presented.

"Didn't I reply already? My bad."

MS's voice reached a depth which was very easy to fall in love with; a pit of caramel lined disaster. Back in the day, that voice had lulled a fair few into a false sense of security and this official was no different.

A chuckle of uneasiness from the other end and the cloying voice of the man-with-no-name sounded through the speaker. "No, you did not, MS. We are not worried, you know, with you being there and all, but you know how things are...Ha Ha."

"Do I? Sir?"

MS gave the words a moment to gather edginess and simmer.

"Actually, you have lost me, Sir. Despite my decade of captaincy, I had never known the BCCI to be particularly bothered with the reachability of the Captain or the Vice Captain, for that matter. Specially, when the match has been called off for today and in all probability for tomorrow too. Is there something I am missing? Sir?"

MS would have happily paid to have had a view of the expression on the official's face as he gradually assimilated the words.

Another brainless, addled titter and MS had to use his considerable cache of patience to keep up with this facade of listening.

"Well, you know MS. As you said, you have a decade of experience of captaining the Team. Well," The voice at the other end went the slightest bit unrelenting, "Well, today's DRS call unburied a lot of trepidation in the board. When Virat did not take that call, despite being strongly advocated by you, the vice captain and the other senior members of the team; it did not look good, MS." Another brief pause. "And I am sure that you would agree."

Now there was a mawkish tenor evident in the man's voice.

MS dragged his fingers through his hair and tugged at them; he rather missed his long locks at times like this. "It was a Skipper's decision. And he had every right to take it. Sir."

"But when you had already called out for it..."

MS had heard enough and the increasing rowdiness of the rains outside, along with the non receipt of the anticipated phone call from Rohit, did not help.