Boria Majumdar
It was the Asia Cup final, and India were reduced to 20-3 with Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav all back in the hut. That’s when there was a collective clamour in the press box. “Boria da, send Subhayan to the airport immediately,” said a number of our industry colleagues. “He needs to leave the press box.” Clearly, Subhayan’s reputation preceded him and I was amused. In any case, Subhayan had a flight at 2am and had to leave around 9:30pm. Soon after he left, there was a partnership, and eventually India won a hard-fought game.
“We told you Subhayan ko bhej dijiye aap,” said a colleague at the end of the game. Many said the same to me on my shows. A hapless Subhayan could only smile. He was there in Ahmedabad for that fateful November 19 night. India lost. He was in South Africa for the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2024. India lost. He was in Dubai for the 2021 World T20, where India lost. He was in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India lost 1-3. There was little he could say to his colleagues. One of our friends who works closely with the team said to me, “Boria da, you please ask Subhayan to cover U-19. India will surely win and then you get him back to senior cricket.”
For the Women’s World Cup final, many said to me ahead of the game that India would surely win because Subhayan was in Australia, and Trisha and Snehasis were covering the match in Navi Mumbai. Indian cricket and Subhayan is quite a story.
No more. Subhayan was the man on ground for the recently concluded T20 series in Australia. And yes, he covered a 2-1 Indian series win. The team played some strong cricket after losing the first game, and in the fourth, when things seemed dire, they bowled brilliantly to seal the series 2-1. Even in Brisbane, where the game was eventually washed out, India made a very strong start and could have made it 3-1 had there been a full game. Subhayan watched it all, and the curse is now history.
Sport and superstition go hand in hand. At The Oval on day 5, no Indian journalist was allowed to take a bio break in the 57 minutes of game time. One who did not listen was given a real mouthful. You do everything to stay in the moment and be with the team. Even the players do the same. Surya had said to me at the end of the Asia Cup, “I was pacing up and down in the dressing room. My heartrate was 150 or so. The tension was real. I couldn’t even see it. In fact, when the partnership happened, I did not want to jinx things and did not watch much.”
All of this raw emotion makes sport what it is. We will get a feel of it again come November 14 in Kolkata. And yes, Subhayan is now back home. He will indeed join the RevSportz team in Kolkata for the coverage. With renewed energy and vigour. He has just covered a series win, and no one can call him unlucky anymore!
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