‘The Ranji Team for the domestic one-day games had been announced, and the morning’s newspapers were carrying the line-up. I was looking for the new names that had found their way into the team. But something was hugely awry. The players I’d known would make it to the team were all on the list. The ones that got no attention in all these days of practice had been taken off the list, no surprises there. But the reporter had bungled up—big time. He had to have; why else would my name not be on a list that had carried it for over a decade now (and leading the list, thanks to the double ‘a’ in Aakash). I went over the list again. This time I read out each name, but no, there was no ‘Aakash Chopra’… Not for a moment did I consider this preposterous possibility—until now, as I sat still, blank, forced to wrap my head around the idea. u000a   u000a …Of course, having my name struck off the list was a huge blow. But that is how it is. No matter how brave a face a player presents, there is