Day 10 – The War Room
All 44 players are seated in front of a massive digital screen. A cold voice echoes:
"From now, there are no mentors. No praise. No safety nets.
You will now be judged by what matters most… pressure."
Each player is handed a "Pressure Report Card" — a new system designed by BCCI psychologists to test emotional strength, adaptability, and response under fire.
A message appears on the big screen:
🧠 "Emotional Consistency = Cricketing Longevity."
Simulation Begins:
The First Internal Match – Team Zayaan vs. Team Aryan
Team Aryan:
Aryan Raj (Captain)
Omkar Shinde
Iqbal Nawaz
Rajveer Goyal
Aditya Veer
Team Zayaan:
Zayaan Sheikh (Captain)
Yuvraj Rathore
Sai Menon
Akashdeep Bora
Tarun Wadhwa
Stadium lights blaze. Spectators: only selectors, psychologists, and hidden cameras.
Aryan (to Omkar):
"No outbursts. Just play smart. They want to see who breaks first."
Zayaan (to his team):
"Cricket is war. Show no softness."
First Innings: Team Aryan Batting
Opening Pair: Aryan & Aditya
Zayaan bowls the first over himself — short ball, followed by a toe-crushing yorker.
Commentator (Selector's booth):
"Zayaan's using Virat's tactics — establishing dominance."
Aryan absorbs it all. Leaves a wide one. Flicks the next ball between fine leg and deep square. Boundary.
But Aditya loses control, tries to hook Archer-style, and is bowled by Akashdeep.
Score after 5 overs: 28/1
Omkar walks in. Quiet partnership begins — dot balls, quick singles.
Omkar lofts a cover drive off Sai Menon. Four.
Then— a bouncer hits Aryan's shoulder. Crowd inside gasps. He doesn't flinch.
Yuvraj smirks from mid-off:
"Still calm? Or cracked inside?"
Aryan replies with a square cut next ball — six.
Mid-Innings Score: 82/3 after 12 overs
Selectors start whispering.
"Omkar's temperament is matching Aryan's. We have a mind fortress forming."
Second Innings: Team Zayaan Batting
Zayaan opens with Sai. They attack from ball one.
Iqbal Nawaz starts with good pace, but Zayaan reverse-scoops his first ball.
Crowd: "Ohhhh!"
Pressure mounts on Team Aryan.
Shivam bowls next over — gets smashed.
Zayaan sledges Aryan from non-striker's end:
"Still playing your textbook shots, captain? Or planning to win sometime?"
Aryan walks up to Omkar:
"Set him up. I want him to lose his temper."
Omkar tosses a flighted off-break.
Zayaan charges down… misses.
Clean bowled.
Omkar doesn't even celebrate. Just walks back.
Selector's Booth:
"Mental chess, not cricket."
Final Result:
Team Aryan wins by 7 runs.
Omkar – Player of the Match
Aryan – "Calmest Under Pressure"
Zayaan – Furious, smashes his bat post-match.
Later That Night
Media starts picking sides.
India Today:
"Aryan's patience or Zayaan's passion — who defines the new India?"
Cricbuzz Poll:
🔘 Aryan – 41%
🔘 Zayaan – 45%
🔘 Omkar – 14%
In the Shadows…
Dhoni watches the match replay.
"It's working. They're starting to break... and build."
Next Up:
Chapter 12 – "The Silent Strategist: Omkar's Rise & The Group Disruption".