Day 5 – The Dormitory Tensions
The Red Zone list was now visible on every digital board.
Deep Kalra. Laksh Verma. Anurag Desai.
That night, no one slept easy.
For the first time, players realized — their friends could be out next.
And those who ranked high? Were targets now.
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Room 3 – Aryan's Block
Aryan sat alone by the window, again sketching fielding layouts in his notebook.
Sai Menon walked in, silently dropped a bottle of water beside him, and sat down.
No words.
Just quiet acknowledgment between two thinkers.
Omkar Shinde joined moments later — curious.
> Omkar:
"So, we three are the only ones no one dares approach."
Sai (smirks):
"That's because most play for spotlight. We play to stay."
Aryan:
"The less you speak, the louder your game sounds."
An unofficial alliance had just been formed.
Three silent sharks in a tank full of noise.
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Meanwhile – Room 5 (Yuvraj's Block)
Yuvraj, Iqbal Nawaz, and Rajveer Goyal sat watching replays on TV.
> Yuvraj:
"They're playing slow poison. We need aggression. Partnerships."
Iqbal:
"Aryan doesn't blink. Sai doesn't fall. Omkar doesn't even breathe."
Yuvraj:
"Then we break their rhythm."
The Alpha Trio was born — not to win fairly, but to break others mentally.
They had the crowd, charisma, and ego. And now? A plan.
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Day 6 – The Captains' Test
Suddenly, a loudspeaker echoed through the dorm:
> "Today: 4 Teams. You vote your captain. 12-hour format. Team match. Pressure test."
All 47 players were divided into 4 squads — Team Red, Blue, Yellow, Green.
Team Red: Aryan, Sai, Dev Tyagi, Karan Sethi, Akash Dube, Ravi Kaul
Team Blue: Yuvraj, Iqbal, Rajveer, Pranay, Aditya, Manan
Team Yellow: Omkar, Laksh, Deep, Nikhil, Raghav, Zubair
Team Green: Aman, Sameer, Vishal, Kranti, Veer, Tanmay
Each team had to elect a captain in 30 minutes.
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Team Red – The Vote
All eyes on Sai… until Aryan stood and said:
> "Pick who speaks better. Not who plays better."
Then he sat down.
Sai Menon was unanimously chosen as captain.
Aryan had declined — not from weakness, but strategy.
> Sai (later to Aryan):
"Why?"
Aryan:
"Captains get studied. I prefer shadows."
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Team Blue – The Power Grab
Yuvraj practically grabbed the armband.
"Done. Let's win this in 10 overs."
No one argued.
But Iqbal, for the first time, smiled sideways.
> "Let the lion roar too loud… then fall."
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Night Before the Match
The floodlit practice grounds lit up.
Mentors and cameras watched silently.
And from a corner tent — Virat Kohli reviewed every team formation with the words:
> "Tomorrow… we'll see who's building a career… and who's acting like a star."
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Next: Chapter 8 – Team Battles Begin: Red vs Blue