(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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....
Thirteen days later…
Karuppu stood before the gates of the Vengsarkar Cricket Academy in Mumbai with his cricket kit bag resting over one shoulder.
The academy grounds stretched wide before him beneath the afternoon sunlight.
Practice nets.
Fitness tracks.
Indoor training blocks.
Young cricketers moving around in training jerseys carrying bats and kits.
For the next thirty days…
This would be his world.
After that—Malaysia.
The Under-19 World Cup.
The officially announced squad had already started creating excitement across cricket circles:
Virat Kohli (Captain)
Karuppu Sivakumar (Vice Captain)
Ravindra Jadeja
Ajitesh Argal
Napoleon Einstein
Shreevats Goswami (wk)
Perry Goyal (wk)
Iqbal Abdulla
Siddarth Kaul
Abhinav Mukund
Manish Pandey
Pradeep Sangwan
Duvvarapu Siva Kumar
Tanmay Srivastava
Saurabh Tiwary
Even now, sports reporters were still discussing the strangest headline from the squad announcement:
"Upcoming Tamil cinema actor selected as India U-19 vice-captain."
Karuppu honestly found it funny.
Seeing these media paying him so much attention.
Inside cinema circles, they called him
"the cricketer. Who will soon leave cinema"
Inside cricket circles, they called him
"the actor who won't be a professional for long time."
Apparently nobody knew where to place him.
After showing his identification and clearance documents at the entrance, the academy security finally nodded respectfully.
After the security checking where finished.
-Nod!
"Room allocation is in Dorm B."
The guard pointed toward the residential block.
"Second floor."
Karuppu thanked him casually before walking deeper into the academy campus.
The atmosphere felt completely different from cinema sets.
No glamour. No vanity vans.
No assistant directors screaming at the extras.
Everything here carried raw discipline.
Sweat. Competition for the starting spot.
Ambition for their future.
Even the air itself smelled of grass, leather balls, and effort.
As he climbed the dormitory stairs carrying his bag, several players passing through the corridors glanced toward him curiously.
Some clearly recognized him already from the recent media attention.
Others simply looked at the tall Tamil boy carrying himself with suspicious confidence.
Finally Karuppu stopped before his assigned room.
A small white name tag was fixed beside the door.
He casually looked at it first. Then paused for a second.
"...."
His eyebrows slowly rose upward.
Because written there were three names:
Virat Kohli
Karuppu Sivakumar
Ravindra Jadeja
For a second, Karuppu simply stared at the tag silently.
"...."
Internally:
'Aiyo1…'
Even with his fragmented future memories, he knew exactly who these two would eventually become.
Not ordinary players. Future pillars of Indian cricket itself.
And now…
He was apparently sharing a room with both of them.
"That's not intimidating at all,"
He muttered under his breath.
Then slowly opened the door.
The room inside looked simple.
Three beds.
Three cupboards.
Training schedules pinned on the wall.
A ceiling fan rotating lazily overhead.
Cricket kits already rested near two corners of the room, meaning the other two had probably arrived earlier and stepped out for training or meetings.
Karuppu placed his own bag near the remaining bed and slowly unpacked his things.
Bat.
Gloves.
Shoes.
Training jerseys.
A few casual clothes.
And secretly hidden snacks Lakshmi forced him to bring despite repeatedly saying the academy would obviously provide food.
After arranging everything, he finally dropped backward onto the bed.
The mattress creaked slightly beneath him.
Above—The ceiling fan kept spinning steadily.
For the first time since arriving in Mumbai, silence finally settled around him.
No family. No film crew. No wedding noise.
Just him. And cricket this time.
Karuppu folded one arm beneath his head while staring at the fan thoughtfully.
"...."
Somewhere outside the room, he could hear:
Distant appeal shouts from practice nets,
Laughter from other dorms, and leather balls repeatedly striking bats.
A completely different world from cinema.
Yet strangely… He felt comfortable here too.
Then suddenly footsteps echoed outside the corridor.
Followed by loud voices approaching closer.
One energetic. One lazy.
Karuppu slowly turned his head toward the door.
Because judging by the volume alone… His future roommates had probably arrived.
The footsteps outside the dorm grew louder.
Followed by voices.
One speaking confidently.
Another laughing loudly at something.
Then—The door suddenly opened.
Two boys entered carrying their luggage.
The first thing Karuppu noticed was the energy they brought into the room immediately.
The first fellow entering looked like the definition of Delhi attitude itself.
Headphones hanging around his neck.
Loose red T-shirt with a massive printed "T" on the chest.
Bubble gum moving lazily in his mouth.
Spiky hair clearly held together using enough gel to survive natural disasters.
Even the way he dragged his luggage carried swagger.
It was none other than Virat Kohli.
Behind him came another boy with entirely opposite vibes.
Simple clothes. Huge excited grin on his face.
"...."
Bright energetic eyes constantly observing everything around him.
He looked genuinely happy just to be there.
Like a village boy who had suddenly entered the biggest adventure of his life.
And future cricket history would one day know him as:
Ravindra Jadeja.
The future owner of rocket-arm runouts and sword celebrations.
The moment Jadeja noticed Karuppu already inside the room, his face brightened instantly.
Without hesitation, he walked forward energetically and introduced himself immediately—
In Gujarati.
Words came flying out rapidly in excitement before his brain caught up.
Halfway through, Jadeja suddenly clicked his tongue realizing his mistake.
-Tch
"Areh1—sorry sorry…"
He was about to switch awkwardly into Hindi.
But before he could—Karuppu replied back smoothly.
In fluent Gujarati.
"...."
Which left Jadeja froze. Completely froze in shock.
Virat too stopped midway while placing his bag down.
Jadeja blinked several times.
-Blink!
Then his grin widened even further.
-Grin!
"Areh!1"
"Tu Gujarat se hai kya?!"1
Karuppu chuckled while shaking his head.
-Chuckle!
"Nahi.1 Tamil Nadu."
Now Jadeja looked even more shocked.
"...."
"Then how are you speaking Gujarati?!"
Karuppu shrugged casually with a grin.
-Grin!
"In free time I learned some languages."
Then added with a smile.
"Might become useful someday."
Honestly…
Both future cricketers stared at him for a second like he had suddenly revealed black magic.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Because the Gujarati itself sounded natural.
Not broken textbook speaking.
Actual conversational fluency.
Virat finally joined them properly now, amused.
"You know English also?"
Karuppu looked at him blankly hearing the question.
"You asked that in English."
Virat paused. Then burst out laughing.
"-Hahaha!!!"
"Acha1… smart fellow."
Finally he extended his hand casually.
"Virat."
Karuppu shook it firmly with a smile.
"Karuppu."
Virat smirked slightly asking curiously.
-Smirk!
"You're the actor guy."
Karuppu immediately pointed toward him.
"And you're the gel-hair guy."
Jadeja started laughing loudly instantly.
"-Hahaha!!!"
Virat looked offended correcting his hair style as if it got affected after being pointed at.
"This is style. And This is coconut oil investment."
"Jealous seeing it."
"Hair spray addiction you have don't you?"
Within less than five minutes, the room atmosphere had already become relaxed.
Jadeja meanwhile looked around the room excitedly before dropping onto his bed dramatically.
"World Cup squad yaar1…"
He shook his head with a huge smile.
"Feels unreal."
Unlike Virat, who carried natural confidence almost aggressively, Jadeja openly showed his emotions.
Every expression sat directly on his face.
Virat leaned back against his cupboard while chewing bubble gum lazily.
"Enjoy now. After tomorrow training starts."
Jadeja immediately groaned.
"...."
Meanwhile Karuppu quietly observed both of them.
Even now, traces of their future personalities already existed clearly:
Virat's intensity, Jadeja's energy, and somewhere in between, his own strange chaos.
Then Virat suddenly looked toward Karuppu curiously.
"So tell honestly."
"What?"
"How are you vice-captain while acting in movies?"
Jadeja immediately nodded too.
"Yeah! We heard about your film. Which seems still not released right?"
Virat grinned slightly and teased.
-Grin!
"Bro, half the academy thinks Shah Rukh Khan joined cricket."
Karuppu sighed dramatically.
-Sigh!
"Pain."
Then with perfect seriousness with a smirk.
"I'm sacrificing for Indian cricket."
Virat threw a pillow at him instantly.
And just like that—The room filled with laughter for the first time.
Three boys.
Three completely different personalities.
Completely unaware that one day all three names would become deeply connected to Indian cricket history in very different ways.
Inside the coaching office of the India Under-19 cricket team setup, the atmosphere was far calmer compared to the noisy dormitories outside.
A television screen played match footage repeatedly while papers, squad reports, fitness sheets, and player statistics were scattered across the large table.
Seated before the screen was Dav Whatmore, the current coach of India's Under-19 side.
Beside him sat assistant coach Munish Bali.
Both had been reviewing player footage for nearly two hours already.
Fast bowlers.
Middle-order batsmen.
Field placements.
Strike rotation.
Temperament analysis.
But eventually the discussion returned once again to one particular player.
Karuppu Sivakumar.
On the television screen, footage from one of his recent matches replayed again.
A scoreboard flashed briefly:
75 off 25 balls
The innings itself looked absurd for that era.
Even Munish Bali unconsciously leaned forward watching some of the shots again.
The first six disappeared straight over long-on.
Massive.
The tracking report showed:
102 meters
Then came another over extra cover.
105 meters
Then mid wicket.
Then straight down the ground.
One six officially measured just under a hundred meters.
98 meters
Meanwhile boundaries kept flowing through every part of the field:
Cuts, flicks, lofted drives, pull shots, and that unusual slog sweep variation.
But what truly interested Whatmore wasn't just power.
It was timing.
Karuppu somehow seemed to have extra milliseconds while batting.
As if the game slowed slightly for him at the point of release.
Even against faster bowling, he rarely looked rushed.
The footage shifted toward his bowling spells next.
Match figures:
4 overs 30 runs 0 wickets
On paper, nothing extraordinary.
Yet Whatmore replayed the final over again.
A maiden.
Not through luck. Through control Karuppu as displayed.
Yorkers.
Wide lines.
Change of pace.
Smart field awareness.
The batsman had become visibly frustrated.
Munish Bali finally spoke while watching the screen.
"He plays instinct cricket."
Dav Whatmore nodded slowly.
-Nod!
"Yes."
Then paused for a moment collecting his thought.
"But controlled instinct."
That was the important difference.
Many aggressive young cricketers played recklessly.
Karuppu didn't. Even his madness carried calculation hidden underneath.
Another clip showed him fielding near the boundary.
Fast pickup after the dive he did.
Direct throw showing his arm speed.
Run out by inches.
Whatmore leaned back in his chair thoughtfully.
"He's dangerous."
Munish raised an eyebrow.
"In good way? Right Coach..."
Whatmore chuckled softly.
-Chuckle!
"In match-winning way."
He picked up Karuppu's player report again.
The notes written by selectors repeated similar observations:
fearless under pressure, adaptable, naturally aggressive, high game intelligence, unusual composure in tense situations.
Then came the final handwritten remark from one selector:
"Needs proper direction or will create chaos."
That made Whatmore laugh openly.
"-Haha!!!"
"Sounds accurate."
Munish crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"Virat has intensity."
"Jadeja has hunger."
"Karuppu…"
He searched for the right word.
"…feels unpredictable. Which is far more dangerous than the above two"
Whatmore's eyes returned toward the paused screen where Karuppu stood smiling after hitting another six into the crowd.
Then slowly, the coach nodded.
"Yes."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"He's like dynamite."
Silence settled briefly in the office.
Then Whatmore added quietly with a smile.
"And my job is making sure it explodes at the right moment."
Outside the office window, the academy grounds remained alive under the evening lights.
Young cricketers continued training.
Dreaming. Competing.
Completely unaware that somewhere inside the building…
The coaching staff had already identified one player capable of changing matches within minutes.
If handled correctly.
*******************************
(Author note:)
I hope you guys give me your opinion and idea's.
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