Author: Boria Majumdar

Rishabh Pant is all set for an IPL return. While he may not keep wicket just yet, despite posting a video of him getting ready behind the stumps, he is expected to bat and captain the Delhi Capitals in the IPL. This, may I say, is the best news for Indian cricket. No Indian keeper, and I say this keeping even the legendary MS Dhoni in mind, has had the kind of impact Pant had in Test cricket. Pant is a once-in-a-generation cricketer. When you read the team sheet and you see Rishabh Pant at No. 7, there is a…

The piece starts with an announcement: Sania Mirza joins the list of stellar speakers at the Trailblazers Conclave 2.0 presented by Tata Steel, on March 7-8 at ITC Royal Bengal in Kolkata. She was much like Aamir Khan’s character in Three Idiots. A once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon who came as a breath of fresh air for Indian tennis. And that’s what begs the question, how did Sania happen? What made Sania ‘The Sania’? How could a middle-class family from Hyderabad with no background in elite sport produce a champion like her? What’s the backstory? Here’s Sania. “Like I have alluded to in…

Bazball. The hype around it has been surreal in recent times. It is as if by being aggressive with both bat and ball, irrespective of the match situation, England will blow the opposition away. The approach, as expected, is condition agnostic. The win in the first Test match in Hyderabad had only added to the Bazball narrative and to the aura around it. Did it push the players to a degree of brazenness? Isn’t there a very thin line between bravado and silliness? Playing a reverse scoop at 224-2 can’t be anything but brazenness. It is a shot that is…

Should India rest Jasprit Bumrah for the Ranchi Test? Or better still, can India afford to do so? With half the side already out due to injury or for personal reasons, India, all of a sudden, look vulnerable even in home conditions. And if we were to pinpoint one reason as to why and how India were able to make it back in Vizag after the shock defeat in Hyderabad, it was the genius of Bumrah. Not taking anything away from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, but it was Bumrah who was the difference between the two teams. And it…

A captain being as good as his team is the ultimate cliche. In cricket, it is the team management that is perhaps as good as the players combined. If the team does well, the captain and the coach looks good, and vice versa. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid got a lot of flak in the aftermath of the World Cup, and some of it was deserved. They made the mistake of not playing R Ashwin in the WTC final, and were criticised for it. They made the mistake of opening the bowling with Mohammed Shami in the World Cup final…

It was a little over an hour after India had won. Social media was on overdrive and each one who is a fan of Indian badminton was celebrating. That was when Pullela Gopichand called back after seeing the messages. He was trying to sound calm but clearly, he was finding it hard to hide his excitement. “Could this be the Thomas Cup moment for women’s badminton?” I asked. There was a brief pause before he answered. “It is a huge moment for the sport,” said Gopi. “For Sindhu to start like that, and then Gayatri and Treesa playing a fantastic…

At the end of day two of the Rajkot Test, it was England who were the happier of the two teams. Having bowled India out for under 450, they had raced to 207-2 at stumps while scoring at more than 6 runs an over. Clearly, India hadn’t anticipated the assault and were rattled. And soon after, it was revealed that Ravi Ashwin, India’s go-to bowler, had to leave the team for personal reasons to be with family. Rohit Sharma and the team management needed a Plan B. If they had to take control, they needed to put in a…

It was a partnership waiting to happen. And I have to thank Sagar Daryani for getting us together. Independently we had known each other for years and always wanted to make a difference to sport. It was interesting to hear Rahul Todi outline his vision for football, hockey and a host of other Olympic sports. It was only natural that Rahul mentioned the fandom for East Bengal which he witnessed first hand in the aftermath of the Super Cup win. That’s when we decided to take things ahead and work together for not just the Trailblazers Conclave 2.0 presented by…

“She (Anmol Kharb) played outstandingly well, I have to say. Look at her temperament at this age”, Indian badminton head coach Pullela Gopichand just couldn’t stop himself. On Saturday, the Indian women had just made the Asian Team Championship final and Gopichand was understandably elated. PV Sindhu, on a comeback trail, hadn’t won her match and that meant there was pressure on the rest of the team. And when it became 2-2 the pressure was intense on Anmol with a historic final appearance in sight. It was all about pressure and soaking in the occasion. Against the hosts (Thailand), who…

“They have a complete game and are surely going to be the team to watch out for in the next few months. If you check, there are few like them around the world. They have the physical strength to hit the big smashes, they have the defence and age is on their side. They will only get better. And having played in Tokyo and knowing what it is all about they will surely be one of our best bets for Paris,” said Pullela Gopichand when I asked him about Satwik and Chirag and how he sees them shaping up in…