A/N: If you like the story, rember to give a review. It'll motivate to continue with sa passion ✌️😁
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Early July 2013, Mumbai Training Ground.
Rocky stood under the nets, bat resting on his shoulder, sweat already soaking his T-shirt even though the session had barely begun.
The morning sun was rciless, but his mind was sowhere else, drifting back exactly one month, to the days when the entire country felt like it had been punched in the gut.
He closed his eyes for a second, and the mories flooded in like a bad dream that refused to fade.
___
Flashback to May 2013...
May 16, 2013, The Night Everything Shattered.
It was just days before the playoffs.
The IPL was at its peak, stadiums packed, TRPs through the roof, the nation glued to every six and every yorker.
Cricket wasn't just a sport in India.
It was religion. Even temples had the posters of Sachin, Dhoni and Kohli.
Families cancelled dinners to watch matches. Kids dread of wearing the blue or yellow jersey one day.
Then it happened.
At 3 AM, Delhi Police raided a hotel in Mumbai.
Caras flashed like lightning.
Three Rajasthan Royals players, S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan were dragged out in handcuffs, faces covered, heads bowed.
Eleven bookies were also arrested with them.
The images played on loop on every news channel within minutes.
"IPL SPOT-FIXING SCANDAL EXPLODES!"
"CRICKET'S DARKEST DAY"
"PLAYERS SOLD THE GA FOR CRORES"
Rocky had been in the MI dressing room when the news broke on the TV screen.
The entire squad had gone dead silent.
Rohit Sharma's face had turned pale.
Sachin Tendulkar stared at the screen without blinking, jaw tight.
Soone in the back muttered, "This can't be real… not again."
___
Cuttack.
Sujit sir, Rudra's childhood coach, was shocked when he heard the news at ho.
"These boys were supposed to be heroes," he thought, heart sinking.
"Now the entire country will question every single over, every single no-ball, every boundary."
___
The next morning, the BCCI office in Mumbai turned into a war room.
N. Srinivasan, the BCCI President, slamd his fist on the table so hard the glass of water jumped.
"Zero tolerance!" he roared at the ergency eting.
"I don't care who they are. If they are guilty, they will be banned for life. This is not just about three players. This is an attack on Indian cricket itself!"
The entire room's atmosphere was tense.
Officials whispered about underworld links, about Dawood Ibrahim's na being thrown around by the police.
Ravi Sawani, head of the Anti-Corruption Unit, was imdiately tasked with a full inquiry.
BCCI suspended the three players within hours.
Rajasthan Royals followed by tearing up their contracts.
But the fire didn't stop there.
By May 21, Mumbai Police arrested actor Vindoo Dara Singh.
Then, on May 24, they raided Gurunath iyappan's house, the son-in-law of Srinivasan himself and the so-called "Team Principal" of Chennai Super Kings.
The charges: betting, cheating, conspiracy.
The scandal had reached the very top of the board.
Headlines scread betrayal:
"BCCI PRESIDENT'S SON-IN-LAW ARRESTED!"
"IS NOTHING SACRED ANYMORE?"
___
On the streets, the reaction was raw.
In Mumbai's Marine Drive, groups of college kids who had painted their faces blue for MI matches now burned old IPL jerseys in anger.
"We worshipped these players like gods," one boy shouted at a TV reporter, voice cracking. "And they sold us for money?"
In Delhi, fans gathered outside the police station where Sreesanth was being held.
So threw stones.
Others stood in stunned silence, holding placards that read "Cricket is Dying."
Social dia, still called Twitter back then, exploded into a battlefield of rage:
@cricketfanatic:
"Sreesanth, Chavan, Chandila, you didn't just fix overs. You fixed our childhood dreams. Disgusting."
@desi_cricketer:
"Cricket is our religion and these bastards turned it into a gambling den. BCCI wake up!!"
@angrymi_fan:
"We pay to watch pure cricket, not this nonsense. Ban them forever."
@ictoveripl_67:
"Ban IPL. BCCI president should resign too. He can't handle his own family affairs and he wants to handle the entire Indian cricket? #DownwithIPL🤬 #Fixer #IplMatchFixing #CricketisDead
___
TV debates ran till 3 PM.
Forr players broke down on air.
TV News Panel Excerpt, "Cricket's Darkest Hour"
May 17, 2013, Pri-Ti Special on a Major Indian News Channel (e.g., Tis Now / India Today style)
Male Anchor in a dramatic, voice rising with controlled anger, standing in front of a giant screen showing police footage of handcuffed players being led away:
"Breaking news, ladies and gentlen. The Indian Premier League, the billion-dollar carnival that brought cricket into our living rooms like never before, lies in tatters tonight. Delhi Police has struck at the heart of the ga. Three Rajasthan Royals players, S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan have been arrested for spot-fixing. Bookies, shady deals, coded signals… everything we feared has co true. "
"This is not just a scandal. This is a dagger through the soul of Indian cricket. Cricket is our religion. Sachin, Dhoni, Kohli, they are gods to millions. And today, so players have sold that faith for a few dirty crores. We go live to our expert panel. Gentlen, the nation is watching. The nation is heartbroken. What have we co to?"
Cut to panel. Split-screen with Harsha Bhogle, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, and Ravi Shastri.
Harsha Bhogle with a voice heavy, visibly shaken, leaning forward:
"I have to be honest… I feel sick. I've spent my life celebrating this ga, and tonight I'm ashad. Spot-fixing? Not even full match-fixing, just small overs, small monts sold to bookies? This is worse than the 2000 scandal. Back then, at least it felt like a few rotten apples in international cricket. Azharuddin, Jadeja, Prabhakar… the CBI report shattered us. Lifeti bans, inquiries, the whole country in mourning. But the IPL was supposed to be new. Fresh. A platform for young talent.
And now? The sa poison has entered our hos through the back door. Fans who bought tickets, stayed up late, painted their faces… they feel cheated. They have every right to be angry. This hurts more because it's dostic. It's our league."
Sunil Gavaskar was more direct and spoke with no-nonsense tone, shaking his head:
"Harsha is right. Let's not sugar-coat it. In 1996-2000, when the match-fixing scandal broke, we thought we had hit rock bottom. Mohammad Azharuddin, our captain, banned for life. Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar… nas fans grew up idolizing. The ga took years to recover. People stopped trusting what they saw on the field. Today, history is repeating itself, but in a more dangerous way.
The IPL has money flowing like water. Bookies sll blood and fooling so players aren't difficult for them. If BCCI does not act ruthlessly, lifeti bans, no rcy, no 'we will investigate' statents, then trust will die forever. Srinivasan and the board must wake up. This is not about three players. This is about whether Indian cricket still has a soul."
Kapil Dev was little emotional and his voice cracking slightly, the 1983 World Cup hero visibly pained:
"Arre yaar… I... we brought the World Cup ho in 1983 so that our kids could dream. Today, those sa kids are watching their heroes being dragged out in handcuffs. This is worse than 2000. At least then it was international matches. Now it's the IPL, the tournant every middle-class boy wants to play in. Sreesanth was an India player! He had everything. Why? Just for money? I feel like crying. BCCI should be furious.
They must be furious. Suspend everyone involved. Clean the ga like we cleaned it after Azhar. Otherwise, parents will stop letting their children play cricket. That is the real tragedy."
Ravi Shastri was fiery, leaning into the cara, trademark intensity:
"Look, I've been in the comntary box, in the dressing room. I know how much these boys train, how much they sweat. And then this? No. This is betrayal. The 2000 scandal almost killed international cricket for us. Azhar's ban sent shockwaves across the world. We had to rebuild from scratch. Today, the IPL is bigger than any international series. If we don't act now, police, BCCI, everyone, the damage will be permanent. Fans are burning jerseys on the streets. Twitter is on fire.
'Cricket is dying' is trending. We cannot let a handful of greedy n destroy the legacies that Sachin, Dravid, and the rest of us built over decades."
Anchor interrupted, his voice rising again:
"Exactly! The comparison with the 1996-2000 match-fixing era is unavoidable. Back then, the CBI report nad legends. Today, it's young stars in the IPL. The nation trusted the IPL to be clean. And now? Police raids at 3 AM. Bookies are laughing. BCCI is under fire because the scandal has reached the chairman's own family circle. Viewers at ho, tell us, are you still going to watch the remaining matches with the sa joy? Or has the magic gone forever?"
Harsha Bhogle's voice trembled as he said,
"This is not just a scandal. This is a wound on the soul of Indian cricket. The only way to heal is absolute transparency and zero tolerance. Otherwise, we will be talking about another '1996 scandal' in the history books… and this ti, it will be the IPL that carries the scar."
___
In the MI dressing room during those dark days, the mood had been heavy.
Rocky sat quietly in the corner listening to the seniors.
Rohit had slamd his fist on the table once.
"We are out here giving everything, blood, sweat, injuries, and these idiots are throwing it all away for a few lakhs? Sha."
Sachin had spoken softly but with steel in his voice:
"The ga has given us everything. If anyone disrespects it… they don't deserve to wear the jersey."
Even Ricky Ponting, who had dropped himself for Rocky, had shaken his head in disgust.
"I've seen a lot in cricket, but this? This hurts the most."
The final on May 26 still went ahead, MI vs CSK at Eden Gardens, but the joy felt tainted.
When Rocky walked out to open and smashed those sixes, millions watched with mixed emotions.
They sighed with relief that at least so players were still clean and they still wanted to believe.
They hope that the new generation wouldn't repeat the mistakes.
____
Back to July 2013, The Present
Rocky opened his eyes.
The net in front of him blurred for a second.
Amre stood nearby, arms folded, watching the boy quietly.
He had seen the sa haunted look in many young players since that..
"You thinking about May again?" Amre asked gently, tho his face was serious.
Rocky nodded, gripping the bat tighter.
"Every ti I step on the field now, sir… I feel like I have to prove sothing. Not just to the fans. To the ga itself. That not everyone is like that."
Amre's voice softened with rare emotion.
'This boy gets it,' he thought.
'Most see only the glamour. He sees the scar.'
"That scandal almost killed the trust the fans have on us," Amre said.
"BCCI was furious, the board was in chaos, fans felt cheated by their own gods. But you… you ca out of that ss like a phoenix. Clean. Honest. Grinding at 5 AM when no one is watching. That's why the people still believe."
Rocky took a deep breath, the weight of those mories settling on his shoulders like an extra responsibility.
He adjusted his stance, eyes focused on the imaginary bowler.
"Then let's make sure they never lose that belief again, sir."
The ball ca.
Rocky played it late, head still, balance perfect.
One small step forward.
One more day in the long, honest grind.
The scar from May would never fully heal.
But maybe, just maybe, players like Rocky could help the ga heal around it.
.
.
.
.
(A/N: What was your age when this happened? I was 12😉)
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