Was I Meant to Play Cricket? Part -1

Sometimes, I wonder why I am not the cricketer I always wanted to be. To be honest, this thing literally broke me into pieces when I thought about the moment I left my dream to be one among the top 11 in blue jersey. I loved cricket, you can say I breathe cricket, or the only game I was mad enough to play in heavy rain or peak summer's intense heat. I used to think that I was the only one who could give his 100% while practicing or playing but unaware of the eye-opening number that almost two in three plays cricket and one in ten is mad for the game just like me.

What say? The hope of being on the team was in everyone's mind. The only thing that separated me from the crowd was the WILL TO WORK the utmost hard, irrespective of the situation. I did just like that, days went by, weeks rolled, months changed, and years passed by I became better at my art. It is a great saying that when you work day in and out and have constant thoughts about things, it will happen. 

Guess what?

The silent hard work landed me the selection in Zone camps (one step closer to my dream). The road to Zones was not easy, I had to face various struggles. One of which was early morning wake-up. Our head coach used to say that one who wakes up late in the morning loses every great thing God has planned for him/her. These camps prepared us for the tournament and this has changed my morning waking-up schedule. Unfortunately, I have not got any matches to play and rejected. 

I came back and decided to improve my weak areas. I woke up at 4 and practiced every day. A 16-year-old kid with a dream to represent his country and be the BEST never allowed him to quit, irrespective of his health. This time, I practiced relentlessly with a tight schedule and punished myself whenever I made mistakes. 

Being an Introvert allows you to understand yourself much better and helps you improve with precision. 

Yes, that thing assisted me like magic. U-19 trials were about to happen, and all the days and night practice were about to be tested. All the work done in silence would be tested. The day comes, the trial is given, and the end result = SELECTED. A layer of happiness was everywhere and I had a firm belief that I would nail it this time. Things went right as I envisioned, matches were received I performed well, and gradually made my way among the top performers. But as they said overconfidence can kill even the mightiest so I was just a 16-year-old lad who had to learn various things from this beautiful game. 

A deciding game will tell the truth about who will stay there and move ahead towards the TOP 50. That day, I didn't score big, although the strike rate was not impressive. Happiness vanished in the blink of an eye, and overconfidence shattered the hard work I put in. I was assured I lost the chance, a much-needed one, and my dear friend, since it was not a movie, I was the last one who got out. 

This thing hurt like someone just pierced an Arrow straight into my heart. I was hopeless, though it was my second rejection only, my time in professional cricket was about to end. A kid who was once too shy to speak even shed a tear was crying like hell. But, his resilience and sturdiness emerged victorious and helped him to move further, and prepare for one last time.......