Author: Boria Majumdar

In April 2015, the contrast could not have been sharper. On the one hand, there was the Indian Premier League, where Chris Gayle was trying to blast Trent Boult and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in front of a raucous Bangalore crowd. And on the other, his West Indies teammates – Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder – were trying to bowl out Alastair Cook’s England in Antigua on a wicket that was offering pace and movement. The first question that came to mind was: Should Gayle not have been there? And Darren Sammy? Ten years down the line, and brand IPL…

I am tired of hearing that Sanju Samson has talent. Yes, he does. But does he bring out his A game when it matters the most? Has he been able to deliver under pressure and make it count when the going is challenging? Will he himself admit that he has not done justice to his ability? Two play-off games, and on both occasions, Samson fell short. An atrocious shot against Karn Sharma had potentially opened the door for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and against Sunrisers, the rush of blood cost his team dearly. Just when Yashasvi Jaiswal was back in…

On Thursday, I did a piece on Virat Kohli where I said he was brilliant for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but did not get adequate support from his teammates. In my opinion, that is the truth. And as journalists, it is our job to state what we see. Many Kohli fans have expressed surprise, asking how I could praise him! Lest they forget, I have covered Kohli from day 1 of his career, and documented every high and every peak he has scaled. In 2018, one of his best years, I wrote a feature where I said, “WC2019, however, is…

He made 741 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 155. Add at least 150 runs saved on the field, and some incredible athleticism which kept Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the hunt after they had lost seven of their first eight matches. And an inspiration off the field. Virat Kohli did everything humanly possible to win it for RCB. And yet, he ended up on the losing side in IPL 2024. The wait continues, and sport, yet again, is cruel. Real, not reel. While Kohli can be proud of what he did and what he displayed, the truth is his…

Three seasons and three Playoff appearances, twice with LSG and now with KKR he has gone one step further. There is definitely something that Gautam Gambhir does right. No Phil Salt at the top of the batting order did not matter. Mitch Starc was not firing in the group stage, it did not matter. He came out all guns blazing on Tuesday night against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad in IPL 2024. KKR will fire is what GG will say and keeps reminding us that cricket is a team sport even as many are always obsessed with individuals. You will never…

It has now been a month since Banned: A social media trial was launched. And, may I say, the feedback and response from all over has been overwhelming. The truth is finally out there, and most importantly, my readers now know it all. The two questions that I have been asked multiple times in the course of conversations on the book are as follows: How did I or the family survive the trauma and the abuse? And second, what helped me to get through it all, and how can I now help others who go through similar situations? Both these…

Sport is all about handling pressure. Soak in it, and deliver. Absorb it and make it work to your advantage. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) did exactly that in the last six games as they believed in the fairy tale. By not giving up and taking it step by step, they have now opened things up for themselves and their fans, and are on the cusp of history. Their women did it a month and a half back. Now, if the men’s team can follow suit, it will be a season like no other. But the RCB story isn’t the subject…

Yash Dayal is a case study of resilience and determination. To make it back after what he went through last year couldn’t have been easy. Five sixes conceded to Rinku Singh, and he was the favourite whipping boy of social-media trolls. The subject of memes, he was mocked for days and weeks. No one cared for his mental health, or that he was a youngster. He lost weight and was depressed. Many felt his IPL was perhaps over, and it would take him months and years to get back to the game. But how he came back last night! Against…

There are games and then there are mega contests, in sports. Between teams, or in this case, between individuals. Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal, Federer versus Novak Djokovic in tennis, Mohammad Ali versus Joe Frazier in boxing, Yazdani versus David Taylor in wrestling, Neeraj Chopra taking on Jakub in javelin and so on. Each of these contests assume the status of a cult over a period of time. You don’t want either gladiator to lose. Each has enriched sport for years and each has a legion of fans who will forever be with their superhero. To see one of them…

The selection of the Indian table tennis team for the Paris 2024 Olympics has raised a lot of eyebrows. No Ayhika Mukherjee and no Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (both will travel as alternate players) in the list has compelled many to term the selection unfair. Subramanyan Raman, former head coach who led the team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the subsequent World Championships, spoke to Boria Majumdar on the issue and raised some serious questions about the selection. Boria: No Ayhika despite beating the Chinese world No. 1 two months back. How do you see this selection? Raman: I am surprised…