Chapter Text
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was busy with his usual farm routine that day when he got an unexpected call from his old friend Suresh Raina.
After the customary greetings and small talk, Dhoni asked, "Tell me Sonu. What can I do for you today? It's not often that a BCCI member calls me out of the blue".
"I have got an NOC request from the South African cricket board. They are asking for permission for a guy to play in SA20 for now", Raina replied.
"Okay? But what does that have to do with me? You should be calling the association for which he used to play, right?", Dhoni replied.
"Yes. I will do that. But I wanted your opinion before I go the official route. I think you might know the guy well", said Raina.
"Sonu, stop making up puzzles and come to the point. Who is the guy?", Dhoni asked.
"Ishan Kishan. Past teams India, India-A, Jharkhand, Mumbai Indians.. Should I continue?", asked Raina.
"Ishan??? Seriously. I thought he had given up cricket. Haven't heard from him for years now", asked Dhoni.
"Can you enquire discretely? I get the feeling that things might take time if I take the official route", replied Raina.
"Do you have any contact details? I would prefer to talk to Ishan first before asking around", asked Dhoni.
"I am texting you the details. You take a call on how you go about it. Please be careful- it was requested by their board to keep it confidential", replied Raina.
Dhoni called the number sent to him by his friend. "Hello, Ishan Kishan?", he asked.
"Yes. May I know who is speaking? I don't normally get calls from India", replied Ishan.
"It's Mahendra Singh Dhoni this side", Dhoni responded.
"Mahi bhai", asked Ishan.
"Yes. Tera NOC request Sonu ke pass aaya hai and he called me. He wanted me to enquire and let him know. I thought you had given up cricket, Ishan", said Dhoni.
"Give up cricket? Never bhaiyya. Indian cricket and its administration gave up on me. So I had to stop playing there. I have been playing local tournaments here since two years now . Had to work very hard to be considered for SA20 selection. Please help me if possible", Ishan requested.
"And what after that? Would you be considered for selection to the national team?", asked Dhoni.
"I need to play domestic for 5 years to be eligible. I will be 31 by then. It's a bit unrealistic now, but one can hope na, bhaiyya?", Ishan responded.
"I need to know more about the circumstances that made you leave, Ishan. I can't take a decision without that", Dhoni informed the other man.
"It's a long story. Do you have time?", asked Ishan.
"Kisaan hu. Subah ka kaam ho gaya toh free rehta hu. Tu bol", replied Dhoni.
"Do you remember me going back from the South Africa tour citing mental fatigue? It wasn't mental fatigue. I had fallen pregnant"Ishan started his story.
"Kya baat kar raha hai? Why doesn't anyone know this?", asked Dhoni.
"Lots of people know, bhaiyya. That whole team, board members at the time and the team members in the immediate one year knew exactly what was going on. They saw my life, my career and ultimately my child being snatched away from me and chose to keep their mouths shut", responded Ishan.
"Kya hua tha baccha, tere sath?", asked the older man.
"I was sent back from the team when the team doctor came to know about my news. I was accused of sleeping around, while the the person who was equally responsible for the pregnancy kept mum about it and never took responsibility. I went home and told my parents what had happened and they wanted me to get married as soon as possible before the news got out", continued Ishan.
"Who was it, Ishan?", asked Dhoni.
"Shreyas", replied Ishan.
"Fir kya hua?", Mahi prompted.
"I waited for the team to return from South Africa. I went and met him in Mumbai and explained the situation. Ours was a casual fling, not a relationship. Shreyas even had an on and off girlfriend then. They had just broken up when we got into that fling in SA. He was very understanding of my situation and offered to get married to save my parents the embarrassment"
"We got married in a private function with just the two families available. I did not even move in with him after marriage. He was constantly traveling and it wouldn't have made sense to me for live alone in his flat. He would come and visit me once on a while. I knew he didn't love me, but it was okay".
"It was towards the end of my term that I came to know that Shreyas had continued his relationship with his girlfriend despite being married to me. I didn't want to confront him, so just kept quiet".
"I gave birth to a baby boy. It was a difficult birth, so I couldn't travel much in the initial weeks. Shreyas came and stayed with us for a few days, but went back to Mumbai for the Ranji matches. I joined him when the baby was four months old. I had someone to manage chores but my son was solely my responsibility"
"I went on a tour with him with the baby. I was shocked to find that his girlfriend and her mom were accompanying him. The board knew about our marriage, but chose to hide it because Shreyas was taking over captaincy and they wanted someone with a clean image"
"The next few days were the worst phase of my life. While Shreyas was very protective of our son, he had no qualms in hurting me. Things that were happening around us were a bit suspicious, but I let it go considering my baby. Shreyas stopped talking to me after the first few days of the tour, spending more time with his girlfriend"
"He would take our son with him and bring him to me only for feeds. We started getting into frequent fights and it was affecting my mental health. I left the tour half way, taking my boy along"
"I was served a divorce notice as soon as Shreyas came back to India. He had applied for full custody of the child, saying I was not mentally well enough to take care of the child. He cited instances of my rage during the tour and provided witnesses that the boy was only with me for feeds or otherwise was fully taken care by his girlfriend and her mom"
"I was given two weeks to get my boy weaned before handing him over to Shreyas' family. I remember my son clinging on to my chest and refusing to let go when I tried to hand him over to Shreyas' sister. He didn't even have the courtesy to come and pick up our son. Shreshta and my mother-in-law were very understanding of me. They apologized for what I had to go through and offered to send me pics of my son growing up"
"I was told discreetly by my association that I wouldn't be selected for any matches now. My family stood by my side like a rock, but it was becoming difficult for me to stay at home. I had lost everything that was close to me"
"I reached out to Devald. I was close to him while in Mumbai. I knew he wouldn't judge me. He called me to Jo'burg. I stayed with him for almost 6 months, just crying and existing. My mom came to see me after 6 months and whooped my ass. He gave me two choices- come back to India and make a new career or stay in South Africa and work on my fitness and make it to a local team there"
"I lost all my baby weight and got back in shape in the next six months. I ran from camp to camp approaching teams for a chance to get back to cricket. I took up coaching kids as a back up job, not because I didn't have money, but because I couldn't trust myself to be alone in my room for too long"
"Finally I got a trial at one of the local clubs, after attending camps for six months. The pay wasn't much, the facilities weren't great, the team was quite inexperienced - but I was doing what I loved after almost two and a half years. I enjoyed my stint there- I was almost a part time coach, captain and trainer there. Thankfully, I got noticed by the SA20 scouts and was approached for a training keeper role. I couldn't appear in the stadium for matches, but I would be doing the keeping role for all teams practicing in Jo'burg that year"
"By the end of my first season, three teams showed interest in giving me a contract. I have been running around the SA board's local members since few months to get them to apply for an NOC. It's a miracle that it has finally happened - I had given up hope of playing this season"
Mahi listened to everything Ishan said without interrupting and then asked once he was done talking, "Why didn't you come to me? You played under me, you grew up in front of my eyes, Ishan. You should have told me".
"I was broken. I still am. I didn't know what to do. I have worked on my physique and health and got back into the game. I left India as it was too painful. Except for my parents, there was nobody, nothing there for me. My life came to a standstill when they took my boy away from me. I have shut myself off from everything other than my game now. Abhi bhi, I could have called you and asked for help with the NOC, but I wasn't sure what you had heard about me. Forgive me Mahi bhai, but I gave up hope of any sort of help from my teammates. My supposed best friend was Shreyas' primary witness in proving that I was an incompetent parent - so I didn't dare talk to anyone", Ishan replied.
"You get ready to play, Ishan. Samjho tera kaam ho gaya. I will make sure that the NOC is provided within this week. All the best- I hope the Super Kings get you there. Hopefully, see you back in India very soon, as a foreign player in IPL", Dhoni blessed his ward.
"Thank you very much bhaiyya. For now I don't have high expectations of myself- SA20 is my immediate aim. I need to make myself a bit stronger before I come back to India. I don't want to cry the moment I see my ex or worse end up slapping him in front of everyone", said Ishan.
"Ishanva, ek baat hamesha yaad rakhna. Not everyone is lucky enough to play cricket at international level. You played for India because you are talented. It's a shame that your career in blues ended the way it did. Don't let that stop you from aiming to go higher. Kya pata you are destined to achieve greatness in the Protean greens. I know your personal tragedy has scarred you, but you need to overcome this. What better way to do that than coming to India and doing well against the people who caused you the pain?", asked the senior keeper.
"I will give it my all, Mahi bhai. I started therapy recently. I hope to put all this behind and come back stronger. Bas keep me in your prayers aur abhi ke liye please keep this quiet. I don't want to jinx things. I am scared to hope for good things now", replied Ishan.
Two Months Later
Ex-Indian Wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan picked for SA20
Kishan, who had vanished from Indian cricket circuits four years back has made a surprise comeback into the cricket scene through the South African cricket league. He was picked up by Johannesburg SuperKings as their lead wicket-keeper and opener. Kishan, who had fallen out of favour with the Indian selectors after his infamous exit during the South Africa, had struggled to make a comeback into the Indian team. Most teammates of Kishan were clueless about his move to South Africa and were shocked to see his name in the list of players picked up by the Jo'Burg franchise of the SuperKings.