•ISHAN KISHAN•

We are on our way out of the hotel when my phone rings. It's Darshan. He informs me that Shubman doesn't have any friends living here, but he gives me the names of two or three places where Shubman might have gone.

Quickly, we divide ourselves into three groups of five and start our search.

I'm with Rohit, Virat, Kuldeep, and Hardik bhaiya. Disguised with masks, caps, and sunglasses, we search nearby restaurants and popular spots. But there’s no sign of him. Fans keep recognizing us, asking for autographs and selfies, which slows us down. We can't even show his picture and ask if anyone has seen him. It’s complete chaos.

We miss practice today, but that’s the least of our worries. I keep calling his number, hoping he's charged his phone somewhere.

As evening approaches, there’s still no information about him. A sense of dread starts to settle in. I try to push the thoughts away, but I can’t help it. Where is he? Why is his phone off? Why hasn't he returned? What has happened to him?

If only I had insisted on talking to him, maybe he wouldn't have left. It's my fault, and if something terrible has happened to him, I will never forgive myself. I just- My stream of thoughts is suddenly interrupted by Kuldeep Bhaiya's voice, "Are you crying?" I look at him, confused. "Huh?" I touch my cheek and feel a tear. I hadn't even noticed it falling.

Kuldeep bhaiya’s words catch me off guard, and as the other three turn to look at me, I quickly wipe away a tear.

Rohit bhaiya’s phone rings. From his tone, it’s clear he’s speaking to our coach. We hadn't informed anyone before leaving the hotel, so now Rohit bhaiya is explaining everything.

After hanging up, he turns to us, his expression serious. “Coach says we should return to the hotel. Going to the police station ourselves won’t help, it will just draw unwanted attention.”

We all nod in agreement. “We’ll send someone from the managing team to the police station,” he continues. “If necessary, we can request the police to come to the hotel to inquire about him. We can’t let the media find out that Shubman is missing.” Again, we nod.

Rohit bhaiya looks at our worried faces and tries to reassure us. “Don’t worry, he’ll be okay.”

I want so badly to believe him, but the circumstances are making it difficult for me.

“I’m going to inform the others,” Virat bhaiya says, picking up his phone to relay the plan to the rest of the team.

_______

Late at night, the police arrivs at the hotel after Darshan registered the FIR. Initially, he wasn’t supposed to come here today, but after learning about the situation, he flew in immediately.

Given the high-profile nature of the case, the police bring along two detectives. After gathering as much information as they can from us, they requests to check the CCTV footage from the hotel. According to Jassi bhaiya, the last place Shubman was seen was here.

Only a few of us were allowed in the security room with the police. Rohit bhaiya, Virat bhaiya, Jassi bhaiya, and I accompanies them.

As the security personnel begin reviewing the footage from the previous night, a clip from 9:17 PM catches our attention.

“Stop,” Jassi bhaiya instructs the technician, pointing at a figure on the screen. “This is Shubman. It was the last time I saw him.” the footage only shows his back as he was going toward the pool area.

One of the detectives asks, “Are you sure, Mr. Bumrah?” Jassi bhaiya nods in confirmation.

“Wait a minute, can you please zoom in a little?” I requests. The technician zoomed in, causing the image to blur slightly, but we can still make out the shirt the figure is wearing.

“This shirt,” I say, pointing at the screen, “it’s not Shubman’s.”

“But what if he went out and bought it yesterday?” Jassi bhaiya interjects.

Though it is possible, something inside me insists that the person we are looking at isn't Shubman, even though he looks strikingly similar.

We were about to move to the next footage when Virat bhaiya interrupts, “What is this? Isn’t that a tattoo?” he asks, instructing the technician to zoom in on the figure’s hand. When he does, a tattoo is clearly visible on that person's hand.

The detective turns to us. “And Mr. Gill doesn’t have any tattoo there?”

“No, he doesn’t,” I replied.

“But he does look like Shubman from behind, if we ignore the tattoo,” Jassi bhaiya clarifies. “That’s why I got confused yesterday.”

“So no one has seen him since last evening, and Mr. Kuldeep was the last one to see him before he disappeared?” ask the other detective.

We all nod. He has been missing for over 24 hours. The weight of this revelation sink into my heart. All I want to know at this moment that he is safe,

Wherever you are, please be safe.

The detective then requests footage from the outside cameras. When they shows us, it reveals Shubman leaving the hotel at 5:21 PM, wearing a white tee, the kind he usually wore under his practice jersey.

As I focus on his movements and body language, he looked lost and sad. He isn't like this during practice. Sure, he maintained his distance from me, but other than that, he seemed okay. However, the Shubman in the footage doesn't look okay at all. This is making me more scared than I already am.

The police announces they would check the CCTV footage from the surrounding area in the direction Shubman has gone. They assures us they would keep us informed of any findings.

The coaches and senior players used their connections to pressure the police and other authorities to prioritize the case while keeping it under wraps.

Everyone is distressed. We all know nobody is going to sleep tonight, but after a five-minute speech from Virat bhaiya telling  that shubman will be fine and urging us to take care of ourselves and rest, everyone start retreating to their respective rooms.

On my way back, I see Nia hugging Darshan, who gently wraps his arms around her. They both look deeply sad. Nia has been a tremendous help in the investigation today. She shares a unique bond with Shubman and clearly cares a lot about him. Darshan does too, even though he rarely shows it.

For a fleeting moment, I envy them. Nia has Darshan to turn to for solace in these hard times. But the person I want to hug right now, the person whose warmth I crave, is missing.

~~~