Who's the boss? [Rutu-Fleming]

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by DilSeRe_

by DilSeRe_

"Aren't you a bit biased about newzealand players? " Rutu asked Flem, raising his eyebrows curiously with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

3 days prior to the mega auctions they were discussing about the potential players they could target and Flem was quite happy to hear the inputs their young captain was giving. But he was surprised at the audacity, the boy was learning to take liberties slowly, not that he was complaining. He turned back at Rutu with equal glint, "Didn't you just say you want Conway back? And even Rachin for that matter? "

"You look love sick with Devv, you don't get to talk about bias and all, young man"

Rutu crossed his legs at the couch and bit his tongue, "Well Conway is actually an SAffer and Rachin is Indian so.. "

Rutu laughed loudly at the coach's amused face before he was rewarded with a not so gentle smack on his thigh.

"Bad joke. Back to job now"

Rutu sat up straight at the instruction. He glanced at Fleming and decided to speak, "Your newzealand buys have actually been amazing, jokes apart. We didn't know Conway that well before you brought him here and then the way he performed, same goes for few other players as well"

Fleming smiled at the acknowledgment. "You can tell me everything you disagree with, you know right? "

Rutu nodded, "yeah, obviously"

"There are a lot of things going on in the auctions. Budget constraints, what other teams are looking for, whether someone else has same plans as you, so you gotta keep everything in mind and make the best squad you can... And then obviously it's about the work you put in with those players in the nets. You gotta see what talents are emerging, like you when you got strong enough to hit some boundaries"
Flem laughed at last, making Rutu chuckle as well. He came in the team like a thin, skinny boy who played orthodox cricket. It took him sometime to develop powerhitting and Flem can't teasing him about it.

"Can we get 70-75% of what we have discussed?

" Close to it. May be not the exact same players, but the skillset we want, we gotta tick the boxes" Flem answered. Rutu bobbed his head twice, registering everything. He loved talking to Flem, especially about cricket. In the last two years he had got so much time with the man, he couldn't be more grateful. Everything Flem said made sense and yet, he was always open to ideas, from everybody. He laughed thinking about how he used to think Flem was intimidating in his early days. The man was anything but that!

"Flem have you ever felt jittery before the auctions?"

Flem laughed, "Nope"

"Seriously? " Rutu asked again.

"The team is built on the field, not in auctions" Flem answered in his usual wise tone. Rutu threw a mock salute at him, making Flem laugh.

"Stop making me feel like an old philosopher. Why do you want me to get jittery? " Flem asked, almost accused.

"It was a genuine question, the day is confusing" Rutu replied back in his defence.

"Don't get confused" Flem answered in a straight, no nonsense tone, making Rutu facepalm himself.

"Ofcourse. You are the boss. You've been picking squad since.. what? " Rutu uttered, the aftereffect of laughing still lingering.

"Oh I'm not the boss" Flem replied back, "Between you and MS, certainly not"

"We have seen most people, but any other suggestion? From your domestic side? " Flem asked and Rutu couldn't hide back his chuckle.

"I told you the names already" Rutu told.

"Okay, that's all? "

Rutu thought for a minute and then shook his head. They had discussed almost everything. Rest all depended on how the day went. He hoped the luck was on their side for the d-day.

Flem patted Rutu's head as he stood up. This was a first for CSK, discussing strategies with the new captain. He was used to MS, but he couldn't deny this one was a refreshing change!

Absolutely loved the video CSK posted on their youtube page, Rutu and Flem discussing auction plans.

And I love, love, LOVE Stephen Fleming. My Top-3 personalities in cricket.

And lastly, I love how CSK treats Rutu 🥹