Virat, after great indecision, had dropped Jinks and selected Rohit for the first two Tests vs SA, 2018.

Social media was going insane over the stupidity of the act, and former players were all speaking up for Jinks--they were cooking up stories about how Virat was biased against Jinks, when in reality, Jinks was one his very best friends, thought Virat angrily.

Rohit top scored with 47 in the last inning of the 2nd Test, but India lost both, and Virat knew he had to bring in Jinks then.

While announcing the team, Virat fleetingly wished with intensity that Mahi bhai was there with him. But since abruptly retiring from Tests 3 years ago, everything had fallen upon Virat, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

It was awful to choose between Rohit and Jinks; awful to tell Rohit without daring to meet his eyes, "You'll not be playing tomorrow"; awful to feel guilty about dropping either Rohit or Jinks; and awfullest to keep having to remind himself, he's a captain, a professional, and not Rohit/Jinks' friend.

India won the 3rd Test and Jinks top scored with 48 in the third inning and that gave the social media even more substance to condemn Virat's captaincy.

Then the ODIs began, and Jinks scored 78 in the 1st ODI, putting on a stand of 189 with Virat himself, and a hurricane broke out on the internet.

"Kohli conspiring against Ajinkya Rahane?"

"Virat Kohli getting Test captaincy--was it the right decision?"

"Best player need not be the best captain--STAND DOWN VIRAT KOHLI"

Why was he even bothering to read these nonsense, Virat wondered despairingly. But once he started letting the media bother him, he couldn't stop.

By the time the last ODI arrived, Virat felt like he was going completely insane.

Rohit asked him on the eve of the 6th ODI, "Are you ok, Virat? Why d'you look so miserable?"

"I dunno," said Virat flatly. "I'm not feeling miserable."

But he was.

Rohit wanted to say more, but this was one of those few things he couldn't tell even Rohit, because Rohit had never been international captain...he wouldn't understand.

Few minutes later, Virat was to be found in his room, obsessively studying the media reports again. Suddenly the door opened and closed and Virat looked up quickly to see Mahi bhai staring at his laptop critically.

Virat desperately tried to shut his laptop, praying that Mahi bhai hadn't seen anything.

But obviously, he had.

"What do you think you're doing, Cheeku? Who goes through what the media is saying?" said Mahi sternly.

"I was just glancing at what they're saying exactly," Virat tried to cover. "Like they're saying that Jinks should have played in all the Tests...but I couldn't have dropped Rohit after that Sri Lanka series, could I?"

Mahi bhai, unexpectedly for Virat, said nothing.

Virat tried to explain his point, getting passionate. "Jinks failed in the entire series and Ro played so well--I had to take Rohit, didn't I, Mahi bhai? Say something!"

"Cheeku, South Africa is different from a home Sri Lanka series. Jinks is much better suited to South African conditions than Rohit, you..." Mahi bhai said, but Virat stood up abruptly, his face flushed with anger.

"Why did you run away from captaincy at all?" said Virat rudely.

"Cheeku, I was just--" began Mahi bhai.

"I don't want to talk to you!" cried Virat, stomping out of the room and slamming the door behind.

"Cheeku--Virat--!" called Mahi bhai, but Virat had disappeared.

Mahi understood that Virat had been hurt at his disappoval, when everyone else was blaming him anyway. Maybe he had counted on Mahi bhai supporting him always, no matter whether the decision was right or wrong.

Maybe he should've said it a bit more gently, thought Mahi regretfully.

Virat refused to talk to Mahi bhai the next day and then they returned to India as the series ended and Mahi still hadn't got a proper chance to pacify his angry and hurt younger brother.

__________

Mahi tried calling Virat a few times back in India, but Virat was still mad enough to ignore them.

After two or three weeks, however, Virat began to feel that he had overreacted, but what was done couldn't be undone.

There was the Nidahas Trophy after that, and Virat was rested, so he didn't get to meet Mahi bhai for a long time.

The first leg of CSK vs RCB of IPL 2018 was on 25th April, and on the eve of that match, after two months, Virat was in the same hotel as Mahi bhai.

___________

All evening, Virat hovered outside Mahi bhai's room, trying to screw up the courage to go in.

Mahi bhai wouldn't snub me. I treated him terribly, but he will forgive me. He always does, thought Virat, and he finally knocked timidly.

"Come in!" called Mahi.

Virat stepped in hesitantly. Mahi bhai put his fears to rest at once by giving him a warm smile and saying cheerfully, "Hi, Cheeku, how're you doing?"

Virat smiled back and went to sit beside his elder brother.

"Not awfully well, we've been losing literally every match," said Virat, trying to laugh a little to hide his pain at RCB's losing streak.

Mahi bhai, of course, saw right through his facade.

"Well, you're bound to return to winning ways soon. Call it probability if you like, but RCB can't lose every match, you know," said Mahi optimistically.

Virat grinned but it quickly turned into a grimace. "We're not returning to winning ways tomorrow anyway, not against CSK."

Mahi looked into Virat's eyes and saw all the anger, resentment and hopelessness in them.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Cheeku?" he asked gently.

"Yes," blurted Virat. "The decision to step down from captaincy was the worse decision you ever took!"

"Why do you think so?" asked Mahi, trying to hide his surprise.

"Because I have messed it all up right from that day," said Virat in an obvious tone. "Everything I did as captain turned out to be faulty, and if you had been captain, we might have won so many more matches--even in South Africa! And the Champions Trophy too, maybe..." Virat started remembering every loss he had faced as captain and was working himself up into an awful state, and finally Mahi bhai grabbed his arm and said, "Virat, calm down!"

Virat abruptly stopped ranting.

"You think I became a good captain from day one, do you?" demanded Mahi.

"I dunno," said Virat in a subdued voice. "You always seemed perfect to me."

Mahi bhai put an arm around Virat. "And Kuldeep, Jassi and Hardik think you're perfect, too."

Virat stared at Mahi bhai in disbelief.

"You can ask them if you don't believe me. But you know it's true," said Mahi. "To the kids in your team, you're a figure to idolize too, just like I was."

Virat opened his mouth to say something but Mahi continued, "Maybe you don't always take the right decisions, Cheeku. No captain was always correct. Not me, nor anyone else. And you're just starting out, it's just been two years of limited overs captaincy."

Virat reflected on his words and discovered that they were true.

"Towards the end of my captaincy career, you've seen me almost always taking correct decisions, but that's what experience does to you."

"Everyone doesn't become great captains like you even with experience, Mahi bhai," Virat told him directly.

Mahi smiled. "Maybe not, but if I hadn't given up captaincy when I did, I couldn't have prepared you for the time after I've retired."

"Don't talk about you retiring!" said Virat, his voice choking up; the thought of Mahi bhai retiring always seemed to reduce Virat to tears.

"All right, Cheeku, I won't," said Mahi bhai indulgently. "But you do get my point, don't you?"

"Yes," admitted Virat.

"You make mistakes, but you learn from them, too. That's what makes you better."

It was such a cliched line, and hundreds of people had told him this earlier, but hearing this in Mahi bhai's voice was the only time he actually felt encouraged.

"You're right, Mahi bhai," said Virat. "As always," he muttered.

Mahi bhai laughed and said, "And stay away from media reports."

___________

The next day, RCB lost the toss again.

Virat followed Mahi across the field and said ruefully, "I've got a gut feeling that we're going to lose today again."

Mahi bhai held out his arms without a word and Virat threw himself into them, suddenly not caring about all the cameras around.

As Virat held on to his beloved Mahi bhai like a lifeline, the elder brother hugged the younger and whispered, "Everything is going to be fine, Cheeku. I'm here for you."

"I know," Virat whispered back.

Naturally, I'm eager for reviews and suggestions, so please do comment.