The stadium broke into applause when Rajoo hit a huge six that earned the team a place in the finals of the inter-district tournament. Rajoo was a district player from Ranikot. His performance soon led to his selection on the under-nineteen Pakistan cricket team. Before long, he became a superstar in the cricket world. But, unfortunately, all this success went to his head. He became very rude and arrogant. This worried the coach and the manager of the team because his attitude was not only annoying the local players but also irritating
the international players. They often counseled him but to no avail. Soon the team went on a tour of Australia where it won the series. When the team returned home they received a resounding welcome. After their return, all the players went to their hometowns.

In Ranikot, Nabeel, Rajoo’s best friend since childhood, was anxiously waiting for his friend’s return. He was going to see his friend after a long time and he was very excited about it. He was soon going to meet his friend who was a cricket superstar. A luxurious car stopped in front of the house. A well-suited, handsome man stepped out of the car. “It’s Rajoo,” Nabeel muttered. He came forward to greet his old buddy, but Rajoo just ignored him and continued walking. Nabeel was shocked! He had not expected such behaviour from his old friend and it made him sad. He just did not know what to do.

The next day, Rajoo had been invited by the town people to the townhouse. They wanted to honor their hero and to hear the stories of his victories. Nabeel was among the group of people who had gathered at the town hall. When Rajoo arrived, he just ignored most of the people and arrogantly walked up the stage and sat there. When he was asked to share his stories, he only talked about himself and his performance. The townspeople listened to his stories in awe, but Nabeel could not understand why his best friend was behaving so arrogantly; such behavior did not suit a world-renowned player.

A couple of days later, Rajoo was practicing on the nearby ground where he used to play in his childhood. Many old childhood memories came to his mind and, suddenly, he remembered his old buddy, Nabeel. Nabeel used to be his best friend and he recalled that on several occasions; Nabeel had counseled him and helped him. While he was thinking about his friend, suddenly, somebody patted his shoulder. He turned quickly and couldn’t hide his happiness when he saw that it was Nabeel. Rajoo hugged his friend tightly and tears started flowing from his eyes. He apologized to Nabeel for his arrogant behavior and asked him to forgive him.

Nabeel was extremely happy. He was grateful to Allah that his friend had not forgotten him. Together, both friends walked towards Nabeel’s house, laughing and chatting all the way home. They talked about many childhood memories, the pranks they had played, the fights they had had, and how each time they had forgiven each other and become friends again. Nabeel showed his friend a scrapbook that he had made for him. After spending a couple of hours together, Rajoo left for home but he promised Nabeel that he would look at and read the whole scrapbook that he had given him. A few days later, Rajoo went back to join his team. His performance, as usual, was excellent, but, his insolent behavior was also the same. When things became intolerable, the team management decided to counsel him once again. The manager called him to his office, but he refused to go. The decision was thus taken to ban him from the team. This shocked Rajoo. He had never thought that his behavior would lead to this; that he would not be allowed to play for Pakistan again!

What is the main idea of the text?

1. It’s never too late to change
2. Good players are always arrogant
3. All cricketers are liked by the people
4. A great Pakistani cricketer is born

Rajoo read five articles from the scrapbook. Read those articles and write down the
number of the article that matches the following titles, in the given blanks.

1. One captain gave another captain a second chance _____
2. Chose team interest over self-interest _____
3. Saved the opposite team’s player and lost the match _____
4. Accepted fault in the other player’s failure _____
5. Surprised the player by calling him back _____