Author: Ashok Namboodiri

On 14th of June, I went and watched Ethan Hunt’s final salvo, soon after watching Temba Bavuma lift the mace. And am still reeling from the after effects…read on. In Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise runs, jumps, flies, and glares his way through 147 implausible action sequences, three existential crises, and at least one exploding helicopter that felt like it was sponsored by Michael Bay’s leftover budget. The film opens with Hunt, now seemingly indestructible and possibly fueled by protein bars and VFX, stealing a nuclear code hidden inside a Fabergé egg that’s lodged inside a moving train…

Over the years, one curious trend has emerged in the Indian Premier League (IPL): teams that dominate the points table often find themselves languishing near the bottom of the Fair Play Award standings, and vice versa. The IPL Fair Play Award, given to the team that best upholds the spirit of the game, has frequently been won by teams that don’t necessarily win the championship or even qualify for the playoffs. This recurring pattern raises an important question: Is there an inverse relationship between competitiveness and fair play in the IPL or is it merely a coincidence? The Fair Play…

When Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) launched their Kannada Instagram page ahead of IPL 2025, few expected it to spark such a personal revolution for 15-year-old Darshan Bhat, a cricket-crazy teenager from Shivajinagar, a vibrant old neighborhood in Bengaluru. Darshan, the son of a BMTC bus driver and a Kannada medium school student, always felt a deep connection with RCB. But like many young fans from non-English backgrounds, he struggled to fully engage with RCB’s official content online. “Aamele ella English dalli irutte sir… nanage artha agalla. Adakke RCB news nanna friend hatra kelbeku,” he says with a grin. (“Everything used…

Just a day ago, the New York Liberty—one of the marquee franchises in the WNBA—achieved a capital raise that sent shockwaves through the world of professional sports. Valued at a stunning $450 million, Liberty isn’t just making headlines—they’re making history. And for women’s sports, that number is more than a valuation; it’s validation. Across the globe, valuations in women’s sports are reaching unprecedented heights. Angel City FC of the NWSL now boasts a valuation close to $200 million, and Chelsea FC’s women’s team is attracting independent investor interest. Liberty’s $450 million valuation, however, has set a new benchmark—and sent a…

“An athlete’s life is not a normal life.” That line from my trainer, Coach Nav, during a morning workout stayed with me all day. It struck me particularly hard while reading three striking headlines from the world of Indian cricket. On March 23, 2025, MS Dhoni kicked off yet another IPL season at the age of 43. Less than a month later, on April 19, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi made a jaw-dropping IPL debut. Then came May 12, when Virat Kohli, at 36, announced his retirement from Test cricket, choosing to prioritise his body and family. These events didn’t just tell…