Cricket Ascend System

Riverside Gully cricket gave respect.

But school cricket?

That gave opportunities.

And Sahil’s opportunity arrived quietly.

On a random Wednesday afternoon.

Government Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar wasn’t famous for cricket.

Most students cared more about passing exams than tournaments.

Still—

every year inter-school trials happened.

And every year, the same few boys got selected.

Usually academy players.

Proper kit players.

Not gully cricketers.

Sahil never even considered trials before.

Why would he?

Earlier he could barely survive serious matches in the lane.

But now—

things were different.

That afternoon during lunch break, Ravi came running toward him.

"Trials next week."

Sahil looked up.

"So?"

"So?" Ravi nearly exploded. "You’re giving them obviously!"

Sahil stayed quiet for a second.

School cricket sounded... different.

Proper grounds.

Leather balls.

White uniforms.

Actual scoreboards.

Not broken scooters and chalk lines.

And honestly?

That scared him more than he expected.

Because deep down—

Sahil still felt like a gully cricketer pretending to improve.

That evening after practice, the system appeared again.

NEW ENVIRONMENT DETECTED

Upcoming Challenge: School-Level Leather Ball Cricket

Difficulty Increase: High

Additional Factors: ✔ Faster bowling ✔ Hard-ball bounce variation ✔ Larger boundaries ✔ Higher technical punishment

Then another line appeared.

HOST WARNING

Current batting heavily optimized for short-boundary tennis-ball cricket.

Several techniques may fail under leather-ball conditions.

Sahil’s expression stiffened immediately.

That sounded dangerous.

Very dangerous.

For the first time since getting the system—

he realized something important.

His power dominance existed partly because of gully conditions.

Short boundaries.

Light ball.

Fast outfield.

But school cricket?

Would be completely different.

The next few days changed his training entirely.

No more random slogging.

Now Sahil practiced:

Straight bat defense

Front-foot drives

Leaving outside off deliveries

Playing under the eyes

Balance after contact

Honestly—

it felt boring sometimes.

No giant sixes.

No crowd screams.

Just repetition.

Again and again.

Meanwhile Ravi helped however he could.

His uncle owned an old leather ball.

Damaged.

Rough.

But usable.

The first time Sahil faced it—

he understood the difference instantly.

The ball came quicker.

Heavier.

And hitting hurt.

A lot.

One mistimed pull nearly numbed his fingers.

Another awkward drive jammed into his wrists painfully.

The system appeared immediately afterward.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Leather-ball reaction adaptation incomplete.

Major Weaknesses: ✘ Bat swing too wide ✘ Front-foot movement delayed ✘ Tennis-ball habits affecting shot selection

Sahil clicked his tongue in frustration.

It felt like starting from zero again.

Still—

one thing remained terrifying.

His power.

Even with the heavier ball—

clean connections sounded violent.

Different.

Deeper.

One straight hit during practice smashed directly into the school wall behind the nets.

Everybody stopped briefly.

Even Ravi stared.

"That sounded insane..."

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 87%

Timing: 82%

Positive: ✔ Excellent power transfer against heavier ball ✔ Strong wrist acceleration maintained

That small analysis changed Sahil’s mood instantly.

So the power still worked.

Good.

Very good.

By the weekend—

school trial discussions spread across the class.

Academy players talked confidently already.

Especially one name:

Kabir Ahuja.

School vice-captain.

Opening batter.

District-level player.

"He’ll definitely captain this year."

"He trained in Chandigarh academy."

"He bowls 125 kmph also."

Students talked about him like a celebrity.

And honestly—

Sahil ignored most of it.

Until one sentence caught his attention.

"Gully players never survive leather-ball cricket."

Sahil stayed quiet outwardly.

But internally—

something burned slightly.

Because maybe that was true before.

But now?

Now he had Cricket Ascend.

Now he could improve.

And for the first time—

Sahil Choudhary started thinking beyond Riverside Gully.