Beyond The Boundary (Shubman Gill x Ishan Kishan)

9; jealous much?

The following day, Ishan geared up for practice, leaving early to hit the field. On his way, he crossed paths with Rohit, who appeared to be wrapping up his session in the nets.

"Good Morning Ish-" Rohit halted abruptly, catching sight of dark circles etched beneath Ishan's eyes. He swiftly adjusted his words, "Morning not so good, huh?"

Ishan mustered a feeble, "Good morning, bhaiya," before continuing towards the nets.

Every swing of his bat seemed like a release of pent-up frustration. His usual precision and finesse abandoned him, missing more balls than he typically would.

Once he wrapped up his session, Rohit queried, "Where's your focus, Ishan?"

Knowing Ishan rarely missed during practice, Rohit sensed something was off. Ishan mumbled a feeble,"Sorry," his tone duller than before, as he settled beside Rohit.

"What's on your mind?" Rohit asked, genuine concern in his voice. Ishan replied with a hesitant "It's nothing." Those two words again.

Ishan was well aware of Rohit's post-World Cup struggles and didn't want to burden him with his own issues.

"You think your Rohit bhaiya is unreliable, huh?" Rohit probed, and Ishan quickly clarified, "No bhaiya, it's not like that. It's just something I need to deal with myself."

Rohit offered a comforting pat on Ishan's back before preparing to return to practice. He reassured, "Just remember that you've got me to talk to. Or Virat, Sky, Shreyas, whoever you want to open up to."

He added one last name before heading off to the ground, "And you've also got your best friend Shubman. He'd probably understand you best, if not us."

Ishan feigned a smile. Shubman, his best friend, was the one weighing heavily on his heart and mind for the past few months. How could he possibly share that with him?

࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ ๋࣭ ࣪

As morning turned to afternoon, Shubman headed for his practice session. Virat, scheduled for an afternoon session too, observed Shubman's hits.

He couldn't help but notice the aggression behind each stroke, as if the cricket ball had personally wronged him.

Virat, recalling his own history of aggressive batting during tough times, couldn't ignore the signs.

Shubman wasn't his usual chilled-out self, and Virat sensed that there was more beneath the surface of Shubman's seemingly aggressive hits.

"Something bothering you?" Virat's inquiry cut through the rhythm of Shubman's practice as he took a brief break.

Contemplating whether to dismiss the question or to open up, Shubman settled for putting forward his own query instead. "Have you ever felt jealous, Virat bhai?"

Caught off guard, Virat considered the question before responding, "Depends on the kind of jealousy you're talking about."

He elaborated, "Back in the day, as a young player, I didn't get as many opportunities, and I did feel jealous of others who did. So, if that's the kind of jealousy you mean, then yes."

"Have you ever experienced the kind of jealousy that.... " Shubman hesitated, grasping for the right words, "that leaves you feeling uneasy when you witness someone else close to the person you hold dear?"

Virat arched an eyebrow, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he couldn't resist teasing, "Who's making our boy jealous?" With an embarrassed smile, Shubman quipped, "It's not like that."