The friends switched off the TV, threw the trash in the bins, and decided to take a rest at Shika's place as they were tired from all the work they had done in the last few weeks. If it was not for their craze for cricket, they wouldn't have woken up from their beds for the whole day. 

"I and Anu will sleep in my room. You four can sleep in Mayank's room or guest bedroom," Shika announced and both the girls moved to Shika's room. The boys decided to sleep in the guest bedroom not wanting to sleep in Shika's cousin brother's bedroom, invading his privacy. 

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On the other hand, the team started their cool-down routine, aiding the minor injuries they encountered during the match and relaxing their muscles. The team again gathered to discuss their performance and areas of improvement. The coaching and supporting staff briefed the performance analysis and areas of improvement of each player.

The technical team did their job of uploading the match details to the social media platforms while the players moved to their bus as there were no press meets scheduled. Once they reached the hotel, they all moved to their respective rooms. 

Shaurya took a relaxing bath to loosen his sore muscles and called his mother to enquire about her health and dinner. He makes sure to call his mother once or twice a day to ask about her medicines even when he's busy. The only time he doesn't call her is during his travel when he couldn't use his phone. He fell asleep as it was already quite late.

The next evening, the team gathered for their dinner and the dinner was a fun event with them pulling each other's legs and having light-hearted conversations about their lives.

"Shaurya bhai, now you have become captain too, when are you going to get married?" Siraj asked his captain. Siraj admires Shaurya as his own brother and for him, Shaurya was his inspiration. He is deeply inspired by Shaurya's leadership skills and his nature. Shaurya too, considers Siraj as his brother he never had.

"Arey Chotu, I became captain recently. Let me get adjusted to it, first. We will see about the wedding later," Shaurya waved off the topic. Shaurya remembered his mother's persistence to get him married but he felt he was not ready to handle 2 new biggest responsibilities of his life at the same time. 

He became the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team recently and is still adjusting to the change in the dynamics. He is still learning how to handle the duties of a captain without making the senior players feel disrespected and youngsters demotivated. It was not like he had a girlfriend waiting for his commitment so he was not worrying about his marriage at the moment.

"Bete, you will become old if you wait until you learn everything, then you have to search for a caretaker instead of the wife" The head coach commented with a chuckle making Shaurya's best friends laugh out loud along with the teammates. Shaurya's face turned into a growl on hearing his coach's comment. 

"Now stop glaring and listen to me. Every year, new members will join the team and the performance of the existing members alter. A few of us may retire, a few of us may improve in our performance and a few may decline. The team you have been handling for the last 6 months won't be the same after a few more months and you have to become adaptable to that team too. So, instead of giving these excuses, find a nice girl and get married. Unlike others, we will have to take retirement in our 30s or 40s and then you have to spend all your life with that one lady. What if you lose her and remain single by the time you retire? You have to bat and bowl on your own," The coach's explanation made Shaurya fall into a dilemma. He thought about his mother's words asking when he would want to get married. 

"Don't worry sir. All these great words will vanish when he sees the right girl. Then, he would be running after her to get married," Akshith commented wrapping his hand around Yuvaan's shoulders who grinned agreeing with him.

A sigh left his lips when he realized he was being targeted but the frown on his face turned into a grin when his eyes fell on Dhruv, his senior. Dhruv is 31 and is unmarried. 

"Sir, you are explaining to a 28-year-old about marriage, what about the 31-year-old eating Pasta over there?" Shaurya's question made Dhruv choke on his Pasta as he glared at his Junior for dragging him into the conversation. Dhruv picked his plate and moved to other senior players not wanting to get teased by his Coach and naughty captain. 

"Hey people," the manager called out gaining the attention of the players and the staff. Everyone looked at him expectantly as he stepped onto the small stage-like setup with a grin etched on his face.

"We are going to stay back for the next 4 days and you can enjoy your time sightseeing or traveling. We will go to Delhi on the 5th day." A cheer erupted from the players as they started planning the places they wanted to visit and the things they wanted to buy. 

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The friends woke up and decided to go to their respective homes. Bhavin dropped Ananya at her place before driving back to his place. Ananya was wrapped in a tight hug as soon as she entered her house and it was her younger brother.

"I missed you," Both of them said at the same time. Ananya went to Kashmir 2 weeks ago and Vansh left for his state matches scheduled in another city a week later. Both of them are each other's best friends and Ananya treats her little brother like a prince and fulfills all his wishes as he is 6 years younger than her. 

"What's your score?"

"How many did you kill?" 

Both of them again asked at the same time and burst into laughter. They walked to the dining room and had their breakfast while discussing their heroic deeds. Their mother shook her head at her children's exaggeration skills. She is surely proud of her kids but the way both of them exaggerate about each other and hype up about their siblings always left her amused.

"If both of you are done hyping each other, then go to the supermarket and bring these items," Rashmi placed a chit on the dining table. 

"Mummy yaar... I just came back from a league," 

"I just returned from an operation," Both whined, not wanting to leave the comfort of home. They were planning to rest for the whole day, talking about their days away from each other. But here, their mother is asking them to go to market, and buy things.

"You can laze around for the entire week from tomorrow. Now go and buy these. I have to go to the hospital," Rashmi declared with finality in her tone. They shared a look and nodded at their mother. Ananya grabbed the list and walked out while Vansh moved to his room to change his outfit. 

They both drove to the supermarket once he came out dressed. The supermarket their mother prefers is a little far from their place as Rashmi prefers organic vegetables and fruits over normal ones and they can't even cheat their nutritionist mother.

"Di, I want new spikes," Vansh looked at his sister who was currently picking the vegetables her mother listed. She was bending the edges of the okra to check if they were fresh and threw them in a cover. 

"Okay. You have added them to your list or want to go shop?" She asked, turning to him. 

"I added them to my wishlist. I will share it with you," He exclaimed hugging his sister in happiness. He stopped using his parents' money from the time his sister started working.  Ananya used to be his messenger whenever he wanted something. It was not like his parents would have rejected his wishes but he was more comfortable asking his sister than his parents.

"What about your ICT trails?" Ananya asked her brother as they walked through the racks, searching for the groceries written on their list.

"The selection committee visited our Zonal league matches and coach sir thinks I might get selected in ICT in the coming months. But I am not sure about it," Vansh explained.

"Arey, you are my hero baby. Whom will they select if not you?" Ananya wrapped her hands around Vansh's bicep and pulled him through the racks ranting how great a player he was and how he shouldn't think negatively. She is his personal motivator and demotivator. She praises him when he doubts his abilities and will pull him down the ladder when he starts feeling great about himself. 

"Do you want to eat double ka meetha?" She raised a brow at her brother when they were standing in front of the bread racks. Vansh is diet-conscious to maintain his form while Ananya works after eating everything to her heart's content. 

"Just because I don't have any matches in the coming month and you will exercise with me," Vansh grabbed the bread packets and threw them into their baskets. They paid the bill and went home. 

"Thank god you came. I was getting late for my first appointment," Rashmi's comment made them want to roll their eyes but they controlled their urge not to get smacked by their mother.

"You were waiting for us?" Ananya pointed at herself and then at Vansh.

"No, I was waiting for avocado on the list. They are for Mrs. Singhania. If not for them, I would have asked your Dad to bring the groceries," She snatched the bags from Vansh's hands and left after taking the avocado bag from the items, while the siblings stood there, stupefied.

"So we just wasted our time to shop for someone else?" They questioned looking at each other and groaning in disappointment. They both moved to Ananya's room and got indulged in their talks forgetting the world around them.