Author's Note:🏆
On readers' demand. I'm doing this for the first ti...
Weekly Power Stone ♦️ Goals:
100 ♦️ PS: 1 Bonus Chapter
250♦️ PS: 2 Bonus Chapters
500♦️ PS: 4 Bonus Chapters
Let's see how far we can climb this week! 🚀
.
.
.
And, If you like the story, rember to give a review. It'll motivate to continue with sa passion ✌️😁
******
The flight to Johannesburg was a ten-hour blur of humming engines and hushed conversations. Inside the business-class cabin, the air slled faintly of leather and roasted nuts, a quiet luxury that felt entirely surreal to Rocky.
His mind kept drifting back to the cramped, rattling state transport buses of the Odisha dostic circuit—the ones where your knees knocked against the seat in front of you and the dust from the highway coated the back of your throat. Here, the seats reclined into flat beds, yet Rocky sat bolt upright, his fingers locked around the plush armrests.
Rocky found himself seated next to MS Dhoni.
The teenager's knuckles went stark white every ti the massive Boeing hit a pocket of turbulent air. He tried to hide it, staring intently at the tiny digital map on his screen, but Dhoni noticed.
The captain didn't offer a lecture on cricket or a stern sermon on ntal toughness. He reached over, closed his own book, and offered a distraction.
"Relax, Rocky. The plane won't fall," Dhoni said, his voice a low, rhythmic drawl that instantly cut through the cabin's steady hum. "It's just the air pushing back. Think of it like a fast bowler. When you get a delivery that spits off a length, you don't fight the bounce. You don't stiffen up. You just ride it."
Rocky let out a shaky breath, though his hands remained glued to the leather. "Ji, Mahi bhai."
"South Africa is beautiful," Dhoni continued, effortlessly shifting the topic. "The light there is different from what you're used to in Cuttack, Mumba or Chennai. It's sharp. You can see the ball clearly, but the wind... the wind plays tricks. It sweeps in from the stands and moves the ball in the air long after it's left the hand."
He paused, a faint, nostalgic smile playing on his lips. "And when we get to Cape Town later, make sure you try a Gatsby."
Rocky blinked, montarily thrown off.
"A Gatsby?"
"It's a massive sandwich," Dhoni chuckled, gesturing with his hands to indicate sothing the size of a cricket bat. "Big enough to feed three grown n. It's stuffed with chips, at, spices, and sauces. It's ssy, totally unpredictable, and surprisingly brilliant. Do you like at, Rocky?"
Rocky nodded as he loved eating at. "Ji, very much."
His grandma hand cooked als were always delicious.
"Then you'll love them in South Africa," Dhoni said with a small smile. "There's variety of at. There's a unique BBQ session too. They also take their barbeque very seriously. You'll definitely love it."
Then, he spent the next hour talking about the wildlife in Kruger National Park, the thin, crisp air of the Highveld and the local food culture.
Not once did he ntion Dale Steyn's lethal outswinger or the bounce at the Wanderers.
He was humanizing the enemy territory, stripping away the suffocating pressure of a debut Test tour until the foreign land felt less like a colosseum and more like a city waiting to be explored.
By the ti the pilot announced their descent into Johannesburg, Rocky's grip on the armrests had completely loosened.
___
The net sessions at the Wanderers Stadium were an imdiate reality check.
They were very intimidating.
The sound of the ball hitting the bat was sharper here, echoing like a gunshot in the high altitude.
Duncan Fletcher stood a few paces behind the primary batting net. The stoic Zimbabwean head coach was a picture of immovable stillness, his face masked by his signature white sun-hat and dark, reflective sunglasses. He kept his hands tucked into his pockets, his eyes tracking the trajectory of every ball.
"He's got the hands, MS," Fletcher muttered, his voice barely audible over the racket of the adjacent nets. He was watching Rocky face a towering local tracking bowler who was generating uncomfortable bounce. "The wrists are exceptionally quick. But the footwork for the moving red ball... it's a work in progress. He's playing away from his body."
Dhoni, who was leaning against a kit bag with his keeping gloves tucked under his arm, didn't shift his gaze from the teenager. "He'll learn by doing, Duncan. You can't simulate this kind of carry in the indoor schools. I'm thinking of sitting him out for the first Test. Let him sit in the dugout, feel the crowd, and just soak in the atmosphere first."
Fletcher gave a slow, asured nod. "Agreed. Let him witness the intensity before we throw him—"
A sickening thud cut Fletcher off.
It was followed instantly by a sharp, agonized cry from the very next net.
Shikhar Dhawan was already on his knees, his bat clattering to the turf. He was doubled over, his left glove violently ripped at the seam, clutching his thumb against his chest.
A rising delivery from Ishant Sharma had spat viciously off a good length, climbing at an unnatural angle to catch Dhawan completely off guard.
The team doctor and physio sprinted past Dhoni, bags tearing open before they even reached the pitch. An hour later, the verdict arrived in the dressing room like a bucket of ice water.
The dical report was brief and devastating: Compound fracture in the left thumb. Imdiate surgery required. Ruled out of action for three months.
___
In the coach's hotel suite that evening, the air was thick with the rich aroma of Fletcher's pipe tobacco and an overwhelming sense of tactical dread. A large whiteboard stood in the center of the room, nas scribbled and erased in a chaotic web of sudden restructuring.
"Dhawan is gone," Fletcher said flatly, staring at the blank space next to Murali Vijay's na. "He was our trono at the top, our most consistent opener in these conditions. Now we have a massive, gaping hole against a brand new ball. We could ask Virat to move up and open, or perhaps Rohit. They've both handled the new ball in white-ball cricket... but fracturing the middle order right now completely destroys the equilibrium of the entire lineup."
Dhoni leaned back into his armchair, twisting a stray plastic bottle in his hands. A quiet, almost mischievous glint flickered in his eyes. "Why not have Rocky open?"
Fletcher's eyebrows shot up so high they practically disappeared beneath the brim of his hat. He took the pipe out of his mouth.
"Open? In South Africa? Against Steyn and Philander with a brand new cherry? MS, this isn't just a tactical gamble. That is selecting a sacrificial lamb. It'll look like a public execution."
"Hear out, Duncan," Dhoni countered, his voice dropping into that familiar, unshakeable calm. "He's young, yes, but youth shouldn't be treated as a weakness or an excuse to shield him. You and I both know what our mandate is from the BCCI. Our job is to ensure this transition process moves forward smoothly, to build the foundation for the next ten years of Indian cricket. Why wait? Why not give a young sensation a chance right now?"
Fletcher stared at the whiteboard, his eyes moving from Rudra to the formidable list of South African quicks.
The room fell into a long, heavy silence as the veteran coach weighed the sheer audacity of the move. Slowly, the tension left his shoulders, and he nodded
"You're right," Fletcher murmured, a grim appreciation settling into his features. "Even if the worst happens and he fails, he still has three more innings on this tour to adapt to international cricket. It's a brutal process, but it's the fastest way to forge a player. If the boy manages to survive the first ten overs, his natural aggression will completely alter the montum of the match."
___
The news of Dhawan's injury hit the Indian cricket fans and ecosystem with the force of an earthquake.
By nightfall, sports desks across the country had entirely scrapped their programming, replacing it with a barrage of ominous headlines.
NDTV Sports Headline:
"DISASTER IN JO'BURG: India's Leading Run-Scorer Shikhar Dhawan Ruled Out of SA Tour."
On the late-night panel shows, the debate grew instantly heated.
"Losing Shikhar right now is like pulling the engine straight out of a sports car right before the green light," Harsha Bhogle said, gesturing with his hands to emphasize the gravity of the loss. "He was the man in form, the one who provided that crucial left-handed variance at the top. Who steps up now? Do you risk moving Virat Kohli out of his settled number four position, or do you fly in a specialist dostic opener who hasn't acclimated to the bounce?"
Across the split-screen, Aakash Chopra shook his head firmly. "You absolutely cannot blood a teenager as a makeshift opener in South Africa, Harsha. It is the literal definition of cricketing suicide. The red virtual ball moves late here, and it moves fast. You need years of technical scar tissue to survive that opening hour. I would be shocked if the managent goes with anything other than the safest, most experienced option available."
On Twitter, the conversation fractured into a thousand volatile opinions.
@Gabbar_77: "Nooooo! Our Golden Bat is gone! The series is over before it started. 😭 #ShikharDhawan #IndvsSA"
@CricketAnalyst: "Hear out: Is this the ultimate mont for Rocky Rudra? If the managent talks so highly of his potential, use it! Make him open and let him counter-attack!"
@FunCricket: "Rayudu should have been on that plane from day one. Now we have an injury and absolutely zero specialist backup. BCCI politics at its absolute finest."
@MahiMagic: "If Dhoni is holding the captain's marker, always expect the unexpected. I would honestly bet my house that he starts Rocky tomorrow."
@SouthAfrica_Sledgers: (Replying to @MahiMagic) "Please, bring on the kid. Steyn is hungry. We'll have him walking back to the pavilion by the third over. Welco to the real world in advance, Rudra."
___
Deep within the internet, the r/Cricket community exploded, the discussion gathread accumulating thousands of comnts within a matter of hours.
The Reddit Thread: r/Cricket - "Rumor: Rudra to open at the Wanderers??" [3.2k Comnts]
u/Sachin_100th_100 [ 412]: "LETS GOOOOO! Imagine the Rudra Storm at the top of the order! If the kid can casually dismantle Shane Watson in Jaipur, he can absolutely handle whatever Steyn throws at him!"
u/GayleForce6_175 [-89]: (Reply) "Are you completely delusional? Facing Watson on a highway in Jaipur is like facing a club dium-pacer compared to dealing with Dale Steyn at a green Wanderers pitch. This isn't an opportunity.. It's a suicide mission for his career."
u/DroppedAtSlip [ 201]: "Why aren't we talking about Virat? He's arguably our best technician. He should be taking the responsibility of facing the new ball instead of hiding behind an unproven 18-year-old."
u/DhoniFinishesIt [ 567]: "People are forgetting that Rocky scored a massive triple century in the Buchi Babu tournant acting as a traditional opener. He has that gritty, old-school 'Khadoos' ntality in him despite the T20 fa. I say let the boy cook."
u/Ashes_Banter [ 114]: (Reply) LMAO did you seriously just use the words 'Buchi Babu'? Bro, that tournant is played on dead, slow turners in Chennai heat. This is Johannesburg. The ball is going to be aid directly at his throat from ball one. He'll be back in the pavilion before the match referee even finishes the toss."
u/MahiRat [ 182]: "If Dhoni is doing this, there is a clear strategic plan. He knows Rocky is one of the few players in this squad with the raw hand-eye coordination required to combat the extra bounce without getting stuck in the crease."
u/Misbah_Unbeliever [ 93]: "Can't wait for the 'Rocky Rule' to be renad the 'Rocky Burial.' RIP to what could have been a very promising career. 🕊️"
u/No_Ball_Hero [ 304]: "The haters in this thread will keep hating. Cuttack boys don't fear raw pace. Bring on the Steyn-gun, let's see what the kid is made of."
u/Bhenchod_Fan [ 145]: "Moving Ajinkya Rahane up is the only sane, professional choice here. You do not run wild experints in the very first Test of a grueling South African tour. This is an international series, not a school playground."
__
The night before the first Test, the team sheet was finalized.
When the news leaked that Rocky Rudra, eighteen-year-old prodigy from the quiet streets of Cuttack—would be the man walking out into the blinding morning sun to open the batting alongside Murali Vijay, he cricketing world stopped spinning for a second.
=====
Please vote and give a review if you like the novel 💎
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate :)
User Comments
0 comments from readers