ICT One Shots- Friendship and Brotherhood

How does it feel to be benched? [Mahi-Rutu]

Rutu fiddled with his phone in frustration. He had been lying in his hotel room after the 3rd and final t20i against Sri Lanka, the team had won the series. All the guys were partying, he had been there too but he had run out of there with a headache excuse. Truth was, he felt too out of place. He had always been a self assured individual, but today, he felt he didn't belong there. The atmosphere suffocated him. So he ran out seeing the first opportunity.

He needed to talk to somebody. He could call Utkarsha but she had been to a friend's wedding and he didn't want to worry her with his problems. He threw the phone on the other end of the bed and tried sleeping. But sleep was actually far away, at the moment it was just a wishful thinking. All he wanted to do was to go home.

He sat up and scrolled through his phone contacts. There were lots of people he could talk to, he was not very outgoing, but he was also not an introvert as most people believed. He had good number of friends, had a really good social circle, but at the moment he wanted to talk to only one person. His captain, MS Dhoni.

Rutu had no idea what he would say to MS, but he just wanted to hear his voice. And so he dialled his number and prayed , please pick up the call, mahi bhai, this one time.. please.

It rang for a few minutes and then got cut by itself. Rutu slumped back on the headrest, deliberated for a while and sent a whatsapp text to MS, "Mahi bhai can we talk? "

Not harbouring more hopes, he put the phone on charger and went to sleep. May be he has slept, or his phone is not with him, he tried to convince himself.

Rutu was just about to dose off when his phone rang. He immediately went to check. Relief washed over him when he saw the name, he was really not expecting Mahi bhai to call back this soon.

"Rutu you okay bachcha? " MSD's warm voice rang through the phone.

"I thought you won't call. I'm good"

"And why did you think I won't call? " MS asked, his voice sounding the tendermost he had ever heard.

"You say you are bad with the phone"

"Not when my skip wants to talk to me" MS replied and Rutu felt all his problems going away. He chuckled as a stray tear escaped his eyes.

"Rutu? Bachcha you are alone in the room? Where are others? " MS asked when the line went silent for a minute.

"I was having a headache bhai, so I returned to my room" Rutu repeated the same excuse he had given to his teammates.

"Take care of yourself kiddo. Ask your teammates for help if you need anything."

"Ji Mahi bhai"  Rutu replied in plain voice, implying he was not listening anything.

"Bhaiya? " He called out when MS didn't speak anything.

"Hmm? "

"How did you deal with players who didn't get any game time? Werent they difficult? "
Rutu asked. Lately, his own behavior was surprising him. His participation in team activities had drastically decreased, he hardly even wanted to be with them. And he was not liking this. This was not what he stood for, this was not what he wanted to become.

"It's actually the worst part of captaincy. Lots of times players used to come and ask, where should I improve to get selected? Some of them really had things that needed to improve but there were many who could not make it into the team without any of their fault. And as a captain you can do nothing about it" MS replied honestly and Rutu's face fell. Not that he was expecting a different reply, but probably he could take the truth better from MS, however harsh it may feel.

"But you know what I always tell these players, that always wait for your chance. You don't know when someone gets injured or something like that and your services are needed. Hope is a beautiful thing after all" MS added.

"Tough thing I know. I might not relate but I can feel you bachcha. You are good enough to play for any team. Just wait for that opportunity, okay? "

"Yes, bhaiya" Rutu replied.

"And you are not a difficult guy Rutu. We are lucky to have you in CSK. I'm sure Indian team will have the same thoughts soon" MS added.

"You all have spoiled me bhai. " MS could also here a I miss you which Rutu didn't speak out loud.

"I don't do false praises Rutu. We know that dont we? " MS asked in his 'captain' voice and Rutu found himself bobbing his head.

"Words beta. I can't see you"

"Yes- ji bhaiya. Ofcourse. I know" Rutu flustered.

"Met Mathee? " MS asked.

"Ofcourse bhai. Such a sweet kid, took me to their home too" Rutu answered, his voice having that joyous undertone for the first time in the conversation.

"You miss that kid of yours don't you? " Rutu teased.

"I don't"

"You don't? I'll tell Mathee. He misses his Mahi bhai like anything and Mahi bhai is saying that... Well" Rutu smirked.

"Dont tell him anything, clear? "

"Aap kaho toh kidnap kar laau usko? "

MS chuckled, "My sweet lil boy, you are too innocent for all this. "

"And your kid is appearing in tamil award shows. Aapne dekha? He was wearing a lungi, or something that looks like a lungi. With a weird tacky kurta or may be a jacket, I don't know what to call that"

"Matheesha you mean? " MS asked to confirm.

"Ofcourse, who else. Should I send you a clip? He looked like a clown. Sweet one though"

"Bhej"

MS could hear Rutu's hearty laugh. He was relieved that the kid was feeling okay. He sounded agitated when he picked the call. Rutu was one guy he didn't have to worry about much, but at the same time he was the one about whom he tended to think a lot. Rutu hardly ever demanded attention, usually he was the one who had to go and talk if he was facing any problem, so when he texted that he needed to talk, he was worried. The talk relieved him very much. He prayed that the kid got his rightful opportunities, he had been very unfortunate in his early career.

"Okay, I'm sending you. But don't tell Mathee that I sent you this" Rutu said as he forwarded a clip of Mathee dancing on a tamil song in that weird outfit.