Cricket System:Second Chance For Raj
Chapter 61: League of Twelve – First Sparks

Chapter 61: League of Twelve – First Sparks

Twelve rooms.

Twelve players.

Twelve unknowns.

Raj’s dorm inside the League facility was minimal — a cot, a locker, a digital panel on the wall, and a single message blinking on his tablet:

"You have 24 hours.

No names.No titles.

Build trust.

Your silence will define your rank."

He placed the tablet down.Didn’t react.

Because this wasn’t unfamiliar.It was just another field with different stitching.

The League of Twelve was more than a test.

It was an incubator.Each player inside this facility had silently passed invisible trials across the country. Some were silent leaders from failed teams. Others were flame-holders whose voices never reached selectors. And some, like Raj, weren’t scouted — they were recognized.

But none of them knew who the others were.

That was the design.

At 9:00 AM, all twelve were summoned to the courtyard.

A circular space surrounded by training walls, sand pits, and nets. A large electronic scoreboard flickered above, but it showed no names.

Only numbers: 1 to 12.

The players stood in a rough circle.No one stepped forward.

No handshakes.Just careful glances.

Tension wrapped around the group like a coiled thread.

Then the screen changed.

Initiation Trial: Activated

Objective: Choose Three Squad Leads

Conditions:

▸ You cannot vote for yourself.

▸ You cannot speak.

▸ You have 15 minutes.

Outcome:

▸ Top Three Become Team A

▸ Remaining Form Team B

▸ Teams Will Compete Without Knowing Why

Confusion rippled.

A few players shifted in place. One scratched the back of his neck. Another furrowed his brow, glancing between others.

Raj didn’t move.Didn’t blink.Because this was the real game.

Silent influence.

One player, tall and broad-shouldered, walked to another and placed his palm over the player’s chest near the emblem line. Then stepped back.

Others saw and copied.

A gesture-based vote.

Subtle. Unspoken. Functional.

One by one, palms touched jerseys.

Some received none.

Some ,a few.

And Raj?

He received six.

Without a word.

⟐ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⟐

Influence Recognition Triggered

▸ Votes Received: 6 of 11

▸ Rank: Highest Passive Recognition

▸ Placement: Team A – Hidden Lead

▸ Bonus Trait Triggered: Thread Magnet

 Effect: You draw unseen confidence in groups of uncertainty

▸ Aura: 8m Influence Radius during Initiation

The trial ended at the fifteen-minute mark.

The scoreboard reshuffled.

Team A: Players 03, 06, 08, 09, 10, 12

Team B: Players 01, 02, 04, 05, 07, 11

Raj noted the numbers.

No faces.No names.

Only threads waiting to be woven and he knew exactly where to start.

Team A was escorted to Training Hall 3.

No coaches.No explanations.

Just twelve cones set up in a circular formation and a basket of gear in the center.

Gloves.

Bats.

Jerseys.

None of them labeled and a single screen overhead with four words:

"Earn Your Rhythm Together."

Player 03, a lean wicketkeeper-type with sharp eyes, broke formation first and grabbed gloves from the center.

Player 06 followed, selecting a bat and motioning for others to gear up.

Raj waited.

Let them move.

Watched how they reached, how they avoided each other’s gaze, how their hands lingered over certain items.

No one picked a jersey yet.Because none were assigned.

Until Player 10 finally broke the hesitation and grabbed one stitched with a lightning bolt near the shoulder.

That triggered a flurry , players began choosing based on instinct.

Raj took the one stitched plain. No color. No mark.

And that caught some eyes.But no one spoke.

They couldn’t.

The system chimed again.

⟐ SYSTEM TEST: INITIATION STAGE 2 ⟐

▸ Trial: Sync Without Voice

▸ Exercise: Relay Circuit – 4 Skills

▸ Objective: Match Timing & Transitions Across All 6 Players

▸ Failure Condition: 3 Consecutive Misreads

▸ Bonus Trigger: Sync Without Looking Back

The cones lit in sequence.

Drill 1: Bat tapping.

Drill 2: Glove transfer.

Drill 3: Sprint & slide.

Drill 4: Reverse rotation.

Each player had to predict the next action — not through callouts, but through feeling.

And the first round?

It fell apart.

Player 12 overran his position.

Player 06 hesitated during the pass.

The group reset.

Again.

Failed.

Reset.

Again.

Failed.

Until Raj shifted positions.

Silently rotated from cone 3 to cone 2.

Tapped twice , a beat early.

That tiny shift realigned timing.

Suddenly, the transfer synced.Sprint followed.Slide triggered.

By the next round, only one pause remained.

And then, even that disappeared.

⟐ SYSTEM RESPONSE: SYNC THREAD DETECTED ⟐

Internal Flow Achieved

▸ Misread Count: 0

▸ Rhythm Stability: 91%

▸ Bonus Trait Activated: Silent Conductor

 Effect: Passive body language creates performance alignment

▸ Influence Count: 5 of 5 teammates aligned

When the final cone lit, all six players finished the relay perfectly.

No cheers.No applause.

Just five sets of eyes slowly turning toward Raj.

Not in shock.But in understanding.

They didn’t know his name.They didn’t need to.

They knew what thread had stitched the pattern.

From the observation deck, a mentor scribbled a note:

"He doesn’t move loud.But they orbit him without knowing."

The physical drills ended at 11:45 AM.

Team A was escorted to a cool-down chamber—dim lights, hydration packs, zero conversation allowed. Every corner of the League facility was designed to strip voice and amplify presence.

Raj sat at the far end, towel over his shoulder, watching his teammates more than resting.

Player 06 rubbed his wrist. Overgripping.

Player 12 cracked his knuckles—habitual stress.

Player 03 kept adjusting his pad strap, though it wasn’t loose.

They weren’t tired.They were unsettled.

Not because of fatigue—but because none of them knew who to align with.

Until Player 10, the one with the lightning-stitched jersey, stood and paced across the room.

He stared at Raj for a long second.Then sat directly beside him.

Didn’t speak.Didn’t nod.

Just mirrored his posture.The ripple was instant.

Player 06 moved next.

Then 03.

The circle realigned—centered around silence.

And Raj?

He hadn’t moved.Not even once.

⟐ SYSTEM ALERT: INFLUENCE RING FORMED ⟐

▸ Squad Pull Detected

▸ Emotional Gravity: Moderate → High

▸ Silent Recognition Count: 4 of 5

▸ Trait Boosted: Anchor Presence → Core Thread

 Effect: Passive alignment within 3m increases focus +20%

▸ Internal Vote Potential: Unlocked

At exactly noon, a system ping echoed from the wall panel.

"Next Phase – Strategic Formation Test

You will compete in an unscored match against Team B.

No coaches.No orders.

Identify your own roles.

No player may bat or bowl more than once."

The lights flickered.The door slid open.

And Raj stood.

He didn’t say, "Let’s go."He didn’t say anything.

But all five followed.

No one questioned the direction.Because they had already chosen a leader.Even if they didn’t know his name.

In the broadcast room, where analysts compiled silent data for national selectors, a veteran coach smiled.

"Team A’s got one already."

"Got what?" the intern beside him asked.

The coach tapped Raj’s number.

"A flame stitched so deep, they’ll forget how they ever played without it."

Team A stepped onto the unscored field with no official captain.

No toss.

Just a ball, a blank scoreboard, and one sentence glowing on the display:

"Order Yourself. Show Us Why You Belong."

Player 03 picked up the gloves.

Player 06 took the new ball.

No one had spoken.No gestures had been made.But roles fell into place like gravity.

Raj moved to mid-off.

Player 10 took deep cover and as the first delivery left Player 06’s hand, Raj adjusted his stance—not for the ball, but for the next five balls to come.

It wasn’t reading the game.It was feeling the rhythm before it formed.

First over: tight.

Second over: dot-heavy.

Third: a breakthrough—run-out at the striker’s end, triggered by Raj’s direct line callout via motion.

No celebration.

Just five heads turning toward him after the wicket.Like compasses aligning.

By the fourth over, Team B began unraveling.

No sync.No thread.

And when their batter tried an overambitious loft shot, Raj was already under it.

Not running.Not diving.Just waiting.

Hands calm.

Catch clean.

⟐ SYSTEM UPDATE: IN-FIELD DOMINANCE STITCHED ⟐

▸Squad Alignment: Full

▸Leadership Level: Shadow Tier Confirmed

▸Unscored Match Impression: Strong

▸Bonus Trait Unlocked: Whisper Captain

 Effect: Teammates auto-adjust fielding rhythm based on your movements

▸ Influence Rank: #1 Among 12

▸ League Vote Surge: Incoming

They bowled out Team B in 8 overs.

Raj batted fourth.Didn’t swing wildly.

Didn’t chase flair.

Two singles.

One boundary.

Game ended without him even raising his bat.

After the match, the team walked toward the bench. Still no one had said a word about captains. But Player 03, the wicketkeeper, leaned closer to Raj and quietly tapped his chest twice right over where a badge would normally go.

Then walked away.

Player 06 mirrored the gesture.

Then Player 10.

Until all five had silently acknowledged something that was never spoken.

Raj stood last.

And in the system’s quiet interface, a final message stitched itself with delicate precision:

⟐ SYSTEM RECORD – LEAGUE OF TWELVE: INITIATION COMPLETE ⟐

▸ Recognition Level: 5 of 5 (Team A)

▸ External Recognition: Pending

▸ League Standing: Provisional Rank #1

▸ Leadership Class: Whisper Tier (Top 0.1%)

▸ Next Trial: Cross-Team Strategic Leadership – The Voice Test

Raj returned to his dorm.Hung the plain jersey by the window.The same one that had no design, no symbol, no color and yet it was the most recognized today.

Because leadership, when stitched right, doesn’t need embroidery.It carries its own gravity.

One that others feel.

Even before they realize they’re following.

To be continued.......