While the cricket world buzzed with India's T20 World Cup squad announcement, a heartwarming moment unfolded at the Mumbai Indians training session.
Captain Rohit Sharma, fresh from his press conference explaining the selection decisions, joined his team-mates.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed Rohit break away from a group discussion that included MI mates Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, KKR Skipper Shreyas Iyer and KKR Mentor Gautam Gambhir.
His focus shifted towards Rinku Singh, the young KKR batter.
The brief chat between Rohit and Rinku sparked curiosity.
Rinku, who many felt deserved a World Cup spot, was a notable absentee from the final 15 though he features among the reserves.
The unscheduled conversation between Rohit and Rinku fuelled speculation about words of encouragement or perhaps even a pep talk from the India captain to the downcast youngster.
The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, acknowledged the difficulty of leaving out Rinku, praising his recent form and stating it was a matter of team composition, not individual performance. 'He's done nothing wrong,' Agarkar emphasised.
Meanwhile, KKR Assistant Coach Abhishek Nayar disputed the notion of Rinku being out of form.
'He has not played enough balls barring one-odd game wherein he has not got runs. He has got runs in every game which have been critical runs for us,' Nayar said.
'The form has never been in question.'
