Author: Boria Majumdar

In this episode of Backstage with Boria, broadcaster and former cricketer Deep Dasgupta shares his views on whether India can defend their title at the T20 World Cup 2026, Sanju Samson’s place in the T20 line-up, Gautam Gambhir’s influence in the T20 format, how unfair the situation has been for Bangladeshi players following their exit from the T20 World Cup, and more. Boria: It will be a travesty if this Team India doesn’t do well in the World Cup. Deep: Yes, I will be disappointed. New Zealand has the best bowling attack at the moment, but India and New Zealand…

Backstage With Boria is now in its sixth season, and I am deeply appreciative of the support from Ageas Federal Life Insurance (AFLI). Having recently completed a very successful brand relaunch, it was only natural that we would want to deepen and strengthen our partnership. With this intention, we met last week in Kolkata with Jude Gomes, Managing Director and CEO, and Atul Srivastava, Chief Distribution Officer of AFLI. From the very first minute, the conversation was engaging and forward-looking. “What more can we do together? How can we support sport and make a difference? We have Sachin as our…

Over the last few days, I have seen a number of pieces suggesting that the India–Pakistan and India–Bangladesh situations are similar – that if neutral venues could be arranged for India and Pakistan, why not for Bangladesh? Some have even suggested this is an example of the ICC’s double standards. The truth, however, is very different. Those equating the Bangladesh situation with Pakistan’s manoeuvring are either ignorant of the facts or being wilfully obtuse. What happened with Bangladesh was largely triggered by a BCCI–IPL decision, itself the result of months of political turmoil across the border. Had security assessments suggested…

With 50 days to go for the Trailblazers Conclave, I couldn’t think of anyone better than Mr TV Narendran to kick off the build-up. There is a very personal story connecting the conclave and Mr Narendran. When I was initially thinking about the conclave, my very first call was to him. “If it’s only cricket, we’d not want to do it,” he said. Those words were music to my ears. I had always wanted to include Olympic and Paralympic sport and create a synergy with men’s and women’s cricket. Imagine Abhinav Bindra sitting down with Richa Ghosh to talk about…

Mohsin Naqvi is a politician first and a sports administrator later. We saw this clearly during the Asia Cup in Dubai. It therefore came as no surprise when Mr Naqvi told the press in Lahore that Pakistan had not yet decided whether they would participate in the T20 World Cup, and that the final call would be taken by the Prime Minister. He also referred to the India–Pakistan skirmish in May 2025 and then ended the briefing, leaving behind a cloud of intrigue. The truth is that Mr Naqvi said nothing of substance. Yet he managed to placate Bangladesh.…

We are 50 days away from the Tata Steel Trailblazers Conclave 4.0. It is the best sports conclave in the country at the moment, and this year promises to be no different. In fact, it will grow further in both scale and scope, with 30-plus athletes and a host of sports administrators making Kolkata their home between 14 and 17 March, 2026. Revsportz Trailblazers Conclave 2.0 had just concluded on March 8, 2024, and each one of us had begun to celebrate. For five months, we had worked to bring India’s best Olympic and Paralympic athletes under one roof,…

As the dust settles on the Bangladesh-T20 World Cup fiasco, one has to say the entire episode was unnecessary. Bangladesh overreacted to the Mustafizur Rahman situation, were successfully provoked by Pakistan into doing so, and tried to play to the local political constituency by showing how tough they could be and attempting to teach India a lesson. In all this, they forgot a basic democratic principle: the majority always wins, and you need to be smart when you don’t have the numbers in the boardroom. Bangladesh were outvoted and outdone, outthought and outplayed. Now, they do not have a leg…

The T20 World Cup is exactly two weeks away, and as defending champions you want every base covered. You want the skipper back among the runs and the entire batting line-up firing. What you don’t want is over-dependence on any one player. For a while, it looked as if India were getting a tad over-reliant on Abhishek Sharma. You seemed to need the young gun to fire for the team to take off – and that’s precisely what you don’t want going into a title defence. Last night, India aced it. And in doing so, they found answers to every…

If you are an Indian cricket fan, you will know that the series India and New Zealand are currently competing in is the IDFC First Bank T20 series. During the live broadcast, it is always interesting to read the trivia that appears in the bottom-left corner of the television screen, displayed in IDFC First Bank’s maroon and white colours. Few people, however, know that the trophy the two teams are playing for is unique: it is made from recycled materials — used cricket bats discarded by schools and leather from used cricket balls. It is a fantastic innovation and has…

Sourav Ganguly is a man of many roles. As I write this, preparations are under way for his forthcoming biopic, with the directorial team making the rounds of his Behala house. He is a show host, corporate speaker and able administrator, not to mention a doting father. But above all, he remains a cricketer, and that is his true calling. The Pretoria Capitals story is a clear case in point. The cricket pitch is where Sourav finds his true mojo, and that is where he really belongs. Pretoria started poorly and lost the first couple of games. Things were not…