first greets and last meets

match 0, day 2 (part I)

A/N: fg&lm has joined the 1k club, you guys!!!!!

I'd like to take a moment to thank all the readers for this, just can't express how happy it makes me!!

usually, I have a surprise planned for the readers on such occasions, because you are the reason why these happen. And i did have one planned when i saw the views getting close to that number, but considering the fact that I had just posted a new chapter when it finally happened, I had to delay the surprise a bit.

dw, you'll still get it, only it won't be just now

other than that, enjoy reading!!!

---

Shubman knew boundaries.

It could be field boundaries, personal space boundaries, life boundaries, you name it and Shubman knew them. He knew them because boundaries had always been the one thing that saved him from any plausibly uncomfortable situation he found himself in, the one thing Shubman knew he would always be armed with.

He was so good with his own boundaries that in turn, he was quick to respect that of others around him. A random stranger could come and cry in front of him and Shubman still wouldn't dare to even hint at asking what happened, afraid that the stranger's boundaries would be broken.

So yeah, Shubman knew boundaries but as his eyes scanned the people around him, he realized that being a captain might become a tough job for him considering his immense respect for the same.

It was the day before the start of the Duleep Trophy 2019-20. Shubman's team had their first match tomorrow against the India Green team. He was pretty pumped about it, wanting to show everybody exactly how much he deserved to be the captain of his team, given the fact that his list-A debut was still only nine matches in. While he knew that the cricket fanatics all over twitter were on his side ever since his spectacular performance in the Ranji Trophy last year, he knew it would take a lot more for the media and officials to trust him after his not-so-awesome debut in the ICT squad.

For now, though, Shubman thought he should take things one at a time.

He was currently at the breakfast-slash-meet-and-greet organized by him, the other two captains and the coaches of the three teams. It was still quite early in the morning but as everyone was accustomed to the early-hour training periods, he saw more people around him than he had expected. He knew most of his team members had either arrived and were cleaning up in their respective rooms or would be arriving during the meet-and-greet. Shubman was looking forward to formally meeting them all and finally seeing the team he would be playing with for the next month or so, except...

"Hey," He nudged the second oldest captain next to him, "Are we sure the breakfast would be enough for everyone?"

Priyank just sighed, glancing at him briefly before sighing again. "It's a buffet, Gill."

"Still," If he was trying to make a point by stating the obvious, Shubman couldn't really understand. "Are you really sure we took everyone's allergies and dislikes into consideration? You know we wouldn't want anyone falling sick because they ate something they shouldn't."

He paused, considering another aspect, "Also, what if we ordered more than required and then the guys wouldn't be able to move properly because they ate too much? You and I have a match to play tomorrow, Panchal; I don't think any of us can afford that. Fazal, on the other hand, his team could probably eat however much they want, right? It doesn't really matter for the--"

Shubman was talking to air now.

Sometime during him sharing his concerns, Priyank had moved away from him, seemingly having had enough of the anxiousness Shubman knew he was radiating like an aura. Also, he was pretty sure he had been pestering the older subconsciously for the past half hour or so they had been here.