The Dressing Room Of Eden Gardens

For Falling Is Not For Us

Sourav rushes out to meet his batsmen, elated and unable to contain his pride anymore. The entire dressing room had been in a trance, watching what felt like an epic they were living out. Chips down, stakes high, nothing going in their favour. And then bam! Out of nowhere these two innings had been contructed by their two most physically accosted batsmen. That was something that demanded more than just a pat on the back and Sourav rushes to do exactly that except when he reaches them, he barely manages to catch Rahul before he faceplants into the pavilion steps. He is trembling with exertion, stumbling on his own two feet, looking nothing like the man who had just thwarted the peaks of an Australian attack.

A low groan from the man causes him to correct his previous assessment. Nearly unconscious but not fully so. It offers absolutely no comfort to hsi rising bp. He gets under one of his arms helping him up shooting an alarmed look at Laxman behind them, not faring much better but atleast on his two feet.

Laxman seems unable to respond to his unvoiced query, blinking tiredly at him, looking two seconds from falling over just like Rahul. Sourav nearly has a heart attack but thankfully Sachin and the others reach and help them both inside, towards a very frantic Dr. Minz. Sourav shakes his head. Questions would have to wait. First their very much underpaid medical team; because no amount of payment was ever going to be enough as compensation for the amount of bullshit everyone in this team pulled; needed to get their patients under their caring hands.

Sourav really wants to dodge far away from the scene before Minz latches onto him as the target for his ire but unfortunately, he is almost entirely carrying Rahul and Minz takes one look at his charge and sets off into such flowery language that Sourav's ears nearly commit suicide.

"I told you!" he shrieks at the end of his sonnet of curses as he hurries them over to a bed, helping him situate Rahul onto it, "I told you to stop them!"

"You!" he whips towards Laxman, his voice shrill, "That bed! Shirt off!".

He might have been talking to Laxman but Ashu and Sachin rush to help him complete the orders as if the man is threatening to set them on fire. Which. It honestly doesn't seem far from the truth. Sourav winces and tries to exit the room quietly but Minz turns back and glares at him.

"You will stay here and look at what you have done!" he hisses, "Rest of you out! And you. Mr. Captain. Get his shirt off,".

People like to think of Sourav as an unyielding personality, one that can't be commanded around. And it may even be true. But faced with a pissed off doctor and his equally fuming team, Sourav is but a meek servant. Besides the longer he looked at Rahul, now fully unconscious, the worse he feels.

"Don't worry, he is just asleep," Nitin takes pity on him finally though he too looks unhappy, "He will be fine in a bit,".

"Just dehydrated," Laxman adds slurring from his place. He looks slightly more aware of his surroundings, staring at Sourav tiredly. 

Unfortunately, Minz catches onto that last bit as he hurries inside the room with two IV stands, the nurses with him carry the rest of the medicines in their arms.

"Just dehydrated!?" he spits, Sourav thinks there might be smoke coming out of his ears now, "Just dehydrated?!" he repeats with even more venom, deftly setting up the drips "This one is half way on his way to becoming Dean Jones The Second and you say just dehydration! I fucking told you-"

Sourav does not intend to tune him out but he was getting sort of fascinated by how Minz managed to continue breaking all sorts of sound barriers but it did not at all waver his hands from being gentle when he inserted the needle in Rahul's hand before moving on to Laxman.

He pays for his fascination when the man got into his face the next second, slamming both their shirts into his chest, "Fetch more wet towels," Minz growls and Sourav trips over his feet as he rushes to follow his instructions.

By the time he gets back Rahul is just regaining consciousness. He hands the towels to one of the nurses rushing to his bestfriend, "Jammy! You are awake! Gave me a heartattack man,".

Rahul smiles a little, giving him a weak thumbs up.

Sourav involunteerily shakes his head, in fondness, in exasperation, in pride, he couldn't tell, "No you are not okay you fool,". His gaze tracks to Laxman, trying to keep his yelps of pain to the minimum and feels a pang of guilt mixed with gratitude, gratitude that he needed to express.

 "Neither of you are, but... Thank you," he says trying to put through as much of his relief, as much of his heartfelt sincerity as he could into the words. Because there was nothing else he could feel at the moment. He had had two roles to choose from, this morning- that of their captain and that of their friend. It was obvious which one he had chosen. The thoughts had warred furiously each time he watched them stumble on the field. He had sent over the request of a runner on Rahul's behalf in the last session, only to have Waugh turn it away. He had cursed the man to hell and back but in the end, in the end Sourav had no one to blame but himself. He had chosen his team over his friends the second he had let them set foot on the field; how should he have expected his Australian counterpart to choose anyone but his own team over his struggling rivals.

Laxman scoffs lightly, drawing him away from his pressing guilt, "Ganguly," he is still talking half in his own mouth but Sourav makes the words out anyway, "It is our team. Not just yours,".

Rahul's almost inaudible raspy voice cuts him off before he can reply to that, "Would do it again Captain,".

"No you fucking won't!" Minz walks back into the room having gone to have a 'word' with their coach. The said word clearly did not help his mood for he was fuming, even harder than before, as he stalks up to his patients finger wagging in anger, "I will tie you to your beds! Don't you-"

Rahul groans and turns to him with pleading eyes but this is very much far from Sourav's jurisdiction. So he pats his dear bestfriend's head, only slightly patronizingly, and triumphantly backs out of range.

He doesn't leave the room though, unable to keep himself from keeping them in his sight. Though both were beginning to look less corpse like now, they looked far from a couple of healthy human beings. There was a bruise blossoming in its ugly glory on Rahul's chest. Laxman's back tilt was now fully visible.

And the more he looks at them, the more he can understand Minz. Or rather, the anger of their Dr. Minz. Rahul and Laxman looked wrecked, looked pitiful, looked like they had beeen beaten up a dozen times. And yet the Australians hadn't eased even the slightest bit for them, going as far as to deny them water and runners.

Well, he thinks, eyes narrowing dangerously; they may have to rename him from Sourav Ganguly, if he doesn't make those overgrown kangaroos pay.