It wasn't scheduled like a normal match.
There were no time slots.No official announcement.Just a memo in the internal selector's channel:
"Match Scheduled: Raj (RC-042) vs. Aarav Kishore
Format: 20 Overs
Evaluation: Leadership Integrity Test
Location: Field Gamma – Silent Viewing"
Those last two words—Silent Viewing—meant something rare.No crowd.No commentary.No media broadcast.
Only the selectors. Only the data. Only the truth.And it meant this:
"Whoever wins today will becomes the face they can't ignore."
Aarav Kishore arrived early.Clean strokes in warm-up.Tight braid.Eyes like a hawk that had already mapped every fielder twice.
He wasn't loud.But he wasn't quiet either.He was commanding.Where Raj was a thread that stitched the unseen, Aarav was a wall that didn't flinch.
Two types of captains in One match.
Before toss, they exchanged no words.Just a nod.But the air between them?
Was stitched tight.
