Author: Boria Majumdar

I have been reading reports for the last two days which suggest that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has promised the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that it will consider withdrawing from the World Cup in solidarity if the BCB’s demands are not met. While there is nothing official from the PCB on the matter, the fact is that the entire discussion is extremely childish to begin with. The question of Pakistan’s withdrawal sounds like nothing more than kite-flying. The PCB has signed a participating nations agreement, and there have been no violations whatsoever. It is playing its matches in Sri…

We have real estate projects specially curated for defence personnel. We also have some from men and women of culture in India. Is it possible to curate a special real estate project for athletes with disabilities (read: extraordinary ability), who have made the country proud? That’s how the conversation started with Sriram Mahadevan, the CEO of Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate. And one thing led to another. Sriram, an avid sports fan and one who has grown up in Kolkata, shares my passion for adda. And we did not have to do much to identify synergies of collaboration. I have…

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has suggested to the ICC that, if need be, the T20 World Cup groups should be altered and Bangladesh could play in Sri Lanka. The idea is that if Bangladesh and Ireland were swapped and the groups recalibrated, things could work out. Some people have suggested to me that this is a plausible idea and worth looking into. The truth, however, is that it is a very poor idea and one made with total disregard for the wishes of another member board. Ireland were informed of the itinerary much earlier, and Irish fans have…

Hosting the Tata Mumbai Marathon, I have to say, is one of the most humbling experiences. To see 65,000 runners on the streets of Mumbai early on a Sunday morning, running for a cause, is one of the most unbelievable sights imaginable. And the numbers keep growing year on year. My call time was 3:30 am, 30 minutes later than usual because all the paperwork had already been completed. But to my surprise, half the city was awake. When I reached the stage next to the old Victoria Terminus, it was buzzing. People were all set, greetings were being…

The ICC is doing all it can to try to resolve the Bangladesh crisis. That is how it should be. As the governing body for international cricket, the ICC must do everything possible to find a solution and move matters forward. Bangladesh is an important member board, and the fandom in the country is essential for global cricket. By doing what it is doing, the ICC has made it clear that it is giving the Bangladesh situation the importance it deserves. Headed by Jay Shah, if the ICC had not done everything it possibly could, it would have been…

As is now becoming the norm, the headlines coming out of events hosted by India aren’t always positive. If it was about dogs biting international delegates during the Para World Athletics Championships last September, it is now about bird droppings and more at the ongoing India Open badminton tournament in Delhi. With India poised to host the Commonwealth Games (2030) and, possibly, the Olympics in 2036, not to mention the Badminton World Championships later this year, these organisational gaps do not leave a good impression of us as hosts. Frankly, these are the finer points we have always struggled…

The idea behind the Trailblazers Conclave has always been to bring all stakeholders together on the same stage for free-flowing dialogue. One of the key stakeholders will always be the state. Government support for sport is crucial and, to a large extent, defines the direction in which the ecosystem will move over the next decade. One of the more proactive states, which is actually using sport as soft power and truly walking the talk, is Telangana. That is why this partnership with the Government of Telangana is special. As I have announced, Telangana will be the feature state for Trailblazers…

Bangladesh cricket is a classic case of how to self-destruct, conceding one own goal after another. In the last 48 hours, the entire saga over Nazmul Islam has cost Bangladesh cricket dearly and pushed it to a point of no return. For someone in a position of power to make comments that are insulting and humiliating towards his own players is unheard of, and it ultimately forced the BCB to relieve him of his responsibilities. Frankly, the BCB was compelled to act once they realised that the players would revolt again within 48 hours if no action was taken. Nazmul,…

The U-19 World Cup is a day away, and all eyes will be on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre, not to forget Deepesh Devendran. But the question to ask is: how important is winning the U-19 World Cup? While a World Cup will forever be special, and the men would do well to follow what the women achieved under Shafali, there are bigger questions when it comes to under-19 cricket. What I am also interested in is how many of these players will eventually transition to the senior level, and how long it actually takes to do so. In the…

I have always enjoyed speaking to senior corporates, for more often than not they bring interesting perspectives to the table. Most, if not all, have told me that they apply learnings from sport in the boardroom. DB Sundara Ramam, Vice President, Corporate Services at Tata Steel, is no different. Insightful and profound, Sundara Ramam was my guest in today’s edition of Leadership Lessons from Sport, and I must say, I felt inspired at the end of the show. Having played multiple sports while growing up, Sundara Ramam brings a unique perspective to the fore. “Given my background of having played…