What goes through the mind of the 12th man during a Test match

#2 So near, yet so far - Last time did I not prepare your drink properly captain?

Usually there are 15 members that are elected for a Test series, out of which 11 take the field. It’s the twelfth man that misses out tantalisingly. There’s no deeper agony when one misses out by a whisker, be it for any reason.

Twelfth man means that he is among the twelve best players, representing India on the International level, which is something to be proud of. But again, there’s some difference between warming the benches and honing your skills on the field of play.

Leave alone performances, there’s a whole lot of other things that passes the mind as reasons for not ending up playing the match- a miss of a practice session, a minor fight with the captain. Nonetheless, players are professional enough to comprehend the rationale behind their exclusion.