God of Cricket!-Chapter 44: Aftermath

Chapter 44: Aftermath

At the moment, it instantly hit Aryan. He had been playing against a living legend of the game, the man with over 500 Test wickets (in this timeline, perhaps even more), and had hit him for a six. But because of the adrenaline and the [Flow] state, he hadn’t paid much attention to the gravity of the duel.

"Well done, young man. I was really surprised with how easy you picked my googly. I really am getting old letting kids like you sweep me from outside off-stump, but you did well. Want to exchange jerseys?" said Kumble with a warm, dignified smile.

Aryan, who heard ’Jumbo’ talk about exchanging jerseys, got excited but kept his composure and said, "Yes, sir! It would be an honor."

The scene of Aryan and Kumble exchanging their team jerseys—Aryan handing over his Mumbai Lion-crest jersey and Kumble handing over the Karnataka state jersey—was captured by one of the photographers who thought that it would look nice, and sure it did as it would be in the papers the next day.

Mumbai, The Next Morning

Aryan woke up early the next day back in Mumbai and was jogging through the Marine Drive promenade when Meera sent him a link via SMS that led to an online article titled "The Jumbo vs The Jet: Passing of the Torch?"

Aryan laughed at the title and thought, "The Jet? Is that my nickname now?"

He opened the link on his phone browser and saw the image of him and Kumble exchanging jerseys in the center of Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Aryan smiled at how far he had made it since his days in the Shivaji Park U16 nets.

Aryan scrolled down and read the article. The article explained a few things about Aryan’s rapid rise before going on to elaborate on the match he played the day before.

Pictures and frame-by-frame analysis of him playing the Switch Hit against Kumble and the reaction of Kumble were also captured and used in the article.

The article went on to mention his match-saving 68* and performance in the death overs.

Aryan had now scored heavily in his debut senior List A season, all while coming from the bench as a Super Sub or finisher.

Aryan smiled at the image and put the phone in his pocket before continuing with his jog.

Aryan returned home after the jog and washed down before coming down for breakfast.

Aryan, after breakfast, realized he had nothing else to do for the morning and decided to binge-watch a bit of highlights on the TV.

After some time had passed, Aryan found himself studying his textbooks.

He had already had a serious conversation with Priya regarding his future and had decided to make cricket his life.

But he had promised his mother not to neglect his studies until he finished his 12th Standard.

He had vowed to complete his education, and since he was also intellectually boosted by the Elixirs, Aryan had no difficulty adjusting to his cricket and educational life.

He would be writing his 10th Board exams next year, and he wanted to get a distinction.

Aryan, after a few hours, finished with his revision and called Ananya.

The two had still been in touch, and their relationship seemed to have progressed beyond the normal friendship stage after the "date" before she left.

Still, neither of them were confronting the other about it directly. They just had this comfortable, seemingly close relationship.

Both of them talked for a while as Aryan asked about her life at Delhi University.

Ananya talked about her hostel life and the campus politics with Aryan. Both of them liked each other’s company, and without even noticing it, an hour had passed.

Aryan left Ananya to do what she had to do (assignments) and ended the call.

He then took his jacket—or rather, a hoodie—before heading downstairs.

Aryan walked a bit in his apartment complex, trying to enjoy the cool Mumbai evening breeze, and just as he was returning home, he received a call from an unknown landline number.

Aryan looked at the number for a few seconds before picking up.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello Aryan. It’s Praveen Amre. I’ll keep it straight for now, but you have to come to the MCA Headquarters (Cricket Centre) tomorrow as we’d like to discuss something with you."

"Oh, hey Coach. Umm, yeah sure. Just text me the time and I’ll be there," Aryan replied.

"Ok good. I’m hoping you have a representative now or...?" Amre asked.

"Yes, Coach. I do have an agent, so we’ll be there tomorrow," Aryan said.

"Ok then Aryan. See you tomorrow," Coach Amre said before ending the call.

"It’s probably about the contract," Aryan thought.

"Well, let’s go and get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow."

The Following Morning, Cricket Centre, Wankhede

Aryan had texted Meera about the conversation he had with his coach, and she had agreed to pick up Aryan from his house in her sedan.

Both of them now found themselves in a conference room with a few other people, including Coach Kulkarni, Coach Amre, as well as the MCA Joint Secretary, Prof. Ratnakar Shetty (or a fictional equivalent like Mr. Lalit Modi, considering the parallel world). Let’s go with the MCA Vice President, Dilip Vengsarkar.

Meera was a bit nervous but didn’t show it as it would be disadvantageous for her during the negotiations. She adjusted her blazer.

"Hello Miss Meera. I’m Dilip, and it’s nice to meet you," Vengsarkar said.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Vengsarkar," Meera said confidently.

"Ok. I don’t like to beat around the bush, so I’ll go straight to the point. We all know the reason for this meeting is to discuss the contract of your client, Mr. Aryan Sharma, who we see as an incredible asset to Mumbai cricket, and we as an Association would like to secure him for the long term," Vengsarkar stated firmly.

Meera nodded her head at Vengsarkar’s words, and he continued, "Well, I’m just a figurehead today, so I’ll leave the financial briefing to our Legal Head, Mr. Iyer," he said, pointing to the man beside him.

"Hello once again Ms. Meera and Aryan, whom I’ve already met briefly. I’ll go straight to the point. The MCA offers Mr. Aryan here a Grade A Rookie Contract with a base annual retainer of ₹3 Crores ($750,000 roughly in 2007 context) as a sign of our trust in his talent. That is roughly ₹25 Lakhs a month."

(Note: In this parallel world, cricket revenue matches European football. 3 Crores is massive for a 15-year-old, akin to a high-end football rookie contract).

"We also added a few things to the contract like run-scoring and wicket-taking bonuses, as well as ’Man of the Match’ bonuses which could bump it to ₹4.5 Crores annually. Since he’s not yet 18, we decided to extend it for 3 years before we decide what to do when he’s 18 based on his performance in those 3 years."

"We also added a ₹100 Crore Transfer Release Clause in the contract which activates in his second year to keep away unwanted attention from other State Associations or rebel leagues till he’s finished with his tenure here at Mumbai," Mr. Iyer said, closing his statement.

Meera looked through the papers in front of her before speaking.

"Everything looks good, but the ₹100 Crore release clause is a bit too restrictive for a minor, and also his base salary should be rounded off and made ₹4 Crores."

"I believe I have no need to say this since he had already been attracting attention since his time in the U19s, but many teams—including Railways and potential IPL franchises—would like to have him in their ranks," Meera said.

Mr. Iyer looked at Vengsarkar, who nodded and continued, "That’s doable on the salary, but for the release clause, we can only go as low as ₹80 Crores, and that’s it," he said emphatically.

Meera didn’t like it but decided to concede since Aryan, who was beside her, had told her to accept the contract with a subtle nudge under the table.

The talks went on for a while, covering image rights and marketing, and it was finally finalized.

Aryan would play for Mumbai until he was 18 and would be earning a weekly salary equivalent (paid monthly) that made him one of the highest-paid teenagers in the country. ₹4 Crores annually plus bonuses.

Meera was happy with what she had done for her client and couldn’t stop smiling.

Aryan put pen to paper and signed the contract, and after a few photos which were sent to the MCA website and press release, it was finished.

"Thanks, Meera. You did great," Aryan said as they walked towards the parking lot.

"That’s my job, and don’t worry, this is just the beginning," Meera said as they got to the car.

"By the way Aryan, do you have social media accounts?" Meera asked. "I have only an Orkut account," he replied (fitting for 2007).

"Okay, that’s good, but we need one for each emerging platform. Facebook is growing, and there is this new thing called Twitter. We need to show you out there as players with a huge following appeal more to companies like Nike or MRF," Meera said.

"So create some when you go home, and if you have trouble managing it, we’ll hire a PR firm to do that, but I don’t think that will be necessary for now," she added.

Aryan nodded at her words and got into the car before Meera drove off.

Aryan, after he got home, went upstairs and decided to do what Meera had told him.

He created an account for Twitter and Facebook before deciding to head to bed.

Aryan, while on the bed, called out the System and checked his personal information.

[PLAYER INFO]

NAME: ARYAN SHARMA

AGE: 15

HEIGHT: 1.84m (6’1")

PROFESSION: CRICKETER

STATUS: SENIOR TEAM SQUAD MEMBER

TEAM: MUMBAI (Ranji/List A)

SYSTEM EVALUATION: [A Gem of a Player]

PLAYER RATING: 80.5/100

POSITION: Fast-Bowling All-Rounder

POTENTIAL: 90

LEGEND POINTS: 144,800/507,000 to LV 5

SIMULATION POINTS: 950

STAT POINTS: 15

[STATS]

Speed: 90

Footwork: 77

Spatial Awareness: 80

Technique: 86

Batting: 81

Bowling: 85

Physical Strength: 80

Fielding: 65

Weak Zone Proficiency: 5 stars

Shot Creativity: 5 stars

[SKILLS POSSESSED]

Cover Drive: 99% Completion

Helicopter Shot: 95% Completion

Switch Hit: 92% Completion

Knuckleball: 90% Completion

Reverse Paddle: 88% Completion

[TRAITS]

Improviser: Equipped

Gap Piercer: Equipped

Blitz: Equipped

Sniper: Equipped

Speedster: Equipped

Knuckleball Specialist: Equipped

Aryan looked at his stat points and saw that he had gotten 10 points from his game against Delhi (and subsequent recognition).

The System had issued 2 challenges before the game, and Aryan had strived to complete both of them, resulting in him earning 10 points from the challenge and extra LP points.

Aryan closed the interface to sleep before heading to sleep. He had a lot to prove to become the best in a world where Cricket was everything.