Bade Sapne

◇ Part 2 ◇

Ishan's POV

The car journey to the practice ground was unnervingly silent. Shubman sat at the front with the driver, physically separating himself from us, while Vira kept her head down, occasionally casting a glance over at me.

I looked down at my lap, her hand firmly clasped in mine. I rubbed little circles on her knuckles, which had gone white, out of clenching her fists so tight. She offered me a weak smile, trying to seem strong, but her eyes betrayed her.

Kal raath, in dono ke beech kuch toh zaroor ho chuka hai.

As we pulled up to the practice ground, Shubman was the first to jump out, grabbing his gear and heading towards the field without a word. I watched him go, a spring in his step, but not the usual energy that defined him.

As me and Vira reached the field, she squeezed my hand, as Rohit bhai came up to us. She noticed, squealed and hid behind me. I smiled at her adorable antics, holding her hand tightly.

"Ye kaun hai, Ishan?" Rohit bhai teased.

I pulled Vira by the hand, making her stand next to me.

"Say hello, Vira."

She blushed in embarrassment, as she held out her hand for Rohit bhai to shake. Rohit bhai chuckled at her shyness, and I gave her a quick peck on the back of her hand, to which Rohit bhai winked cheekily at me.

"Kya baat hai Ishu, tum toh patni hi dhund ke laye ho." Rohit bhai teased.

To this, Vira blushed even harder, hiding her face in my arm. I heard Virat bhai call out Rohit bhai's name, and Rohit bhai responded, turning to run towards him.

"Kya hua, tum itni shy kyun ho chuki ho?" I asked Vira gently.

"Rohit Sharma... mujhe zindagi mein kabhi nahi laga tha ki mein Rohit se milungi."

I chuckled. "Mere saath raho, thode din mein, ye log sab tumko humari team ke hi ek part samjhenge."

She smiled at this, as I wrapped my arm around her, resting it on her shoulder. She leant into me, as I placed a light kiss on her forehead. I watched her blush profusely, lightly pushing me away as Virat bhai teased us by making a heart shape with his hands and pointing at us.

Throughout all these introductions, I'd completely forgotten about Shubman. So, when I went to put my bag down, I saw his and set mine down next to it. But, the man himself was nowhere to be found. He'll be around somewhere, I'm sure....

"Vira?"

"Haan?"

"If you want to sit, you can sit down here."

She nodded.

"Don't miss me too much!" I teased, and she giggled at my joke.

I gave her a quick, cheeky wink, and, with a quick stretch to warm me up, I padded up and ran off towards the nets, bat in hand. As I walked into the last free net, I watched as Jassi bhai stood up, coming towards me. Oh shit. I'm cooked.

Jasprit Bumrah is such an excellent bowler, that even his teammates are terrified of him, let alone his opponents. I braced myself for some hard-core cricket, as I nodded to Jassi bhai, indicating that he could start his run-up.

He pitched it up, just short of the crease, as I stepped forward and attempted to hit it. My bat made contact with the ball, as I hit it straight. To my disappointment, Jassi bhai jumped and caught it, giggling a little at my shocked face.

I blushed in embarrassment. Kya yaar. This continued for a couple of minutes, with Jassi bhai unleashing his skill relentlessly on me, as I got battered by the ball, and struggled to hit a shot.

"Jassi bhai! Meri ek bhi ball nahi lag rahi hai. Mein kya karun?" I asked, upset at my inability to face his bowling.

"Sirf tu hi nahi hai. Dekh, Shubman ko bhi kuch toh hogaya hai..." He pointed at the net next to us.

My eyes drifted to where his finger was pointing, as both of us watched Mohammed Siraj bowl to Shubman. Shubman, who was usually a very good player of pace, couldn't even get his bat to touch the ball. At least I'd gotten SOME bat on ball.

Something was seriously up, because ever since I've known Shubman, I've realised that he's serious about his cricket, and any issues that he has, he leaves them outside the cricket field. He's never been affected in this way before. He's never let anything personal get through to his cricketing career. Something's wrong.

Even Siraj looked at Shubman in confusion, as Jassi bhai and I watched him miss another ball. Oh god. He let out a yell of pure frustration, as he chucked his bat at the ground, and stormed off to where the bags were.

I hesitated for a moment, then jogged over to where Shubman had retreated, his shoulders heaving with every breath.

"Shubman, kya hua? You okay?" I asked, concern lacing my voice.

He looked up at me, his eyes blazing with a mix of anger and frustration.

"Just leave me alone, Ishan," he snapped, turning away from me.

I stood there, stunned for a moment, then glanced back at the nets where Vira was watching us with worried eyes. It was clear something had happened between them, and it was affecting Shubman more than he wanted to admit.

The way he looked at Vira sometimes... could it be jealousy? But Shubman was my best friend, and if there was something more, he would have said something, right?

"Usse kuch waqt do," Jassi bhai advised, and I nodded, knowing he was right.

As I walked back to my spot in the nets, I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever had happened between Vira and Shubman was bigger than I had initially thought. For now, all I could do was try to focus on my game and keep an eye on them. It was going to be a long day.

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A/N:

Heyyy!

How are you guys?? Gimme your opinions on this chapter, and another part from Ishan's POV. Next up is going to be exploring the feelings of another player, and it'll probably be out in 2 weeks' time.

Also, sorry its a bit late :(((

Stay tuned :))

Love yaaa