🏏 Chapter 30 — The Dressing Room Where India Started Feeling Real
Age: 16 Years
The India U-19 dressing room was quieter than Riddhiman expected.
Not because players lacked confidence.
But because everyone there already understood something important:
At this level, talent was normal.
Pressure was normal.
Expectation was normal.
What mattered now was whether you could survive being part of Indian cricket structure.
When Riddhiman Paul entered the dressing room for the first time, conversations slowed for only a second.
Then resumed.
Experienced players never stare too long at newcomers.
But they observe everything.
Near the far side of the room sat Kiran Powar, the captain.
Calm posture.
Sharp eyes.
A player already carrying leadership habits beyond his age.
Beside him:
S. Sriram discussing batting angles quietly
D. N. Bundela laughing loudly with teammates
Harvinder Singh taping his fingers before practice
Harminder Singh checking bowling grips repeatedly
India U-19 did not feel like junior cricket.
It felt like unfinished international cricket.
⚙️ The New Boy From Kolkata
One of the support staff pointed toward an empty seat.
"Riddhiman, over there."
He nodded quietly and placed his bag down.
No introduction speech.
No dramatic welcome.
Only small glances from teammates.
The kind used in cricket to measure someone silently.
D. N. Bundela looked once and smirked slightly.
"This is the Bengal boy?"
Harvinder Singh replied casually:
"The one selectors keep talking about."
Another player added:
"He doesn't look dangerous."
Riddhiman heard everything.
And reacted to nothing.
🏏 First Team Practice
The practice ground atmosphere was completely different from state cricket.
Everything moved faster:
drills shorter
bowling sharper
fielding intensity higher
mistakes punished immediately
No coach shouted emotionally.
Corrections here were cold.
Professional.
Kiran Powar gathered everyone briefly.
"Simple rule."
Pause.
"India comes first. Ego later."
Everyone nodded.
Including Riddhiman.
⚡ First Net Session Against Harvinder Singh
The first serious net session became important very quickly.
Harvinder Singh took the ball.
Fast bowler.
Aggressive run-up.
The type who enjoys testing newcomers physically.
Fielders nearby stopped casually chatting.
Even senior players watched quietly.
First ball.
Short length.
Sharp pace.
Riddhiman moved late.
Too late for normal players.
But perfectly for him.
Controlled defense.
Harvinder noticed immediately.
Second ball.
Faster.
Closer to body.
Again: late movement balanced contact soft hands
Now silence increased slightly around the nets.
Third ball.
Full pace.
Outside off.
Temptation delivery.
Riddhiman waited.
Then drove through cover.
Not power.
Timing.
Perfect timing.
FOUR.
D. N. Bundela stopped smiling.
S. Sriram looked up immediately.
And Harvinder Singh's expression changed for the first time.
Not anger.
Interest.
🧠 S. Sriram Notices the Problem
Sriram quietly muttered:
"He doesn't commit early…"
Pause.
"He waits longer than everyone else."
That sentence mattered.
Because at high-level cricket, extra milliseconds change careers.
And Riddhiman seemed to exist comfortably inside those milliseconds.
⚙️ Team Discussion Begins
Later during water break:
Bundela asked:
"How are you playing that late?"
Riddhiman answered simply:
"I wait until the ball becomes honest."
Silence.
Harvinder frowned slightly.
"What does that even mean?"
Riddhiman looked toward the nets.
"Every bowler hides intention first."
Pause.
"The ball reveals truth later."
Nobody replied immediately.
Not because they fully understood.
But because the answer sounded strange enough to feel real.
🌍 First Tournament Briefing
That evening, the team management announced upcoming schedule.
India U-19 Tour Structure:
Bangladesh U-19 series
Australia U-19 tour
Asian tournament
ICC U-19 World Cup preparation
The room became more serious instantly.
International cricket—even junior level—changes atmosphere.
Kiran Powar stood near the board.
"We don't play for stats there."
Pause.
"We play because India losing is remembered."
That sentence stayed inside the room heavily.
🧠 Riddhiman's Internal Shift
For the first time, the scale became real to him.
This was no longer:
academy cricket
Kolkata cricket
state selection pressure
Now:
every performance connected to national structure
every mistake carried larger consequence
every success changed future pathways
And strangely—
instead of fear,
he felt clarity.
⚡ Practice Match — His Role Begins
During internal practice match, India U-19 collapsed early:
Score:
61/4
Management sent him at: 👉 No. 5
Not as experiment anymore.
As solution.
First few overs:
no risky shots
no emotional response
only stabilization
Slowly:
singles appeared
gaps opened
bowlers lost rhythm
Kiran Powar watched from dressing room balcony.
And for the first time, he understood something dangerous:
"This boy doesn't rescue innings."
Pause.
"He changes how pressure behaves."
🌙 Night — Hotel Balcony
That night, away from Kolkata for the first time under India colors, Riddhiman stood quietly on hotel balcony.
No excitement.
No nervousness.
Only awareness.
Far away from home, he realized:
India cricket is not loud from inside.
It is heavy.
And somewhere deep within that heaviness—
his obsession became even calmer.
Which made it far more dangerous.
🏁 Ending of Chapter 30
Inside India U-19:
players started noticing him
bowlers stopped underestimating him
coaches began observing him differently
And quietly, inside that dressing room full of future cricketers—
a new understanding formed:
Riddhiman Paul was not trying to become part of the team.
He was slowly becoming impossible for the team structure to ignore.