Author: Boria Majumdar

In a move that will be much discussed and debated in the coming days and months, the Mumbai Indians have announced Hardik Pandya as their new captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. This piece isn’t about the merits of that move. Nor is it about right and wrong. Rather, it is about Rohit Sharma, the captain, and the legacy he leaves behind – five titles in 11 seasons is a record only Mahendra Singh Dhoni can match or better. Mumbai Indians enriched Rohit and he in turns leave behind a matchless legacy. Taking over the captaincy reins in difficult circumstances, Rohit led…

Yesterday evening I had dinner with the “Beast” of Indian and world badminton, HS Prannoy. And in fact I asked him who gave him the nickname the ‘Beast’? Prannoy, who is completely the opposite of his on court persona when you meet him socially, laughed and said he needs to ask this question on social media and find out. The South African bowlers, however, would not have such a problem. For them, SKY is the new Beast. 100 of 56 deliveries as skipper, Surya had almost batted South Africa out of the game and made sure that the series ended…

David Warner’s final Test series, which begins with a Test match at the Optus Stadium in Perth against Pakistan, has been the subject of frenzied social media debates long before the first ball has been bowled. Mitchell Johnson’s explosive, and critical, column set the tone, and while many have hit back on Warner’s behalf, the man himself has shown no inclination to be drawn into a battle of words with his one-time teammate. Instead, Warner’s focus seems to be on reinforcing his stellar record in home conditions – he averages 58.39 and has made 19 centuries in 55 Tests on…

It was always going to be difficult against the Netherlands. More so after you go 0-2 down. In fact, for a few minutes in the second quarter, I was about to switch off the live feed feeling deflated. That was when the fight started. It was much like Tokyo 2020 and the match against Germany. Down and almost out, India came back. Some moments of absolute brilliance set things up and when it was 2-3 going into the last quarter, you could start to believe something might happen. The Indian bench was ready to push the boys and with just…

“I did not think I will play one test, leave alone one hundred,” said David Warner, when asked about his state of mind ahead of the 100th Test match. “So you can well understand what it means to me and my family. I feel privileged, humbled and fulfilled.” Now he has played 109 and is about to take guard for his final three Tests, with all coming together for one final time at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), his home ground, for the New Year Test in January 2024. In the recently concluded World Cup final, David Warner fielded like…

Sunil Gavaskar made a very pertinent point on Sunday evening when he said that every cricket board has enough money to buy covers and get entire grounds covered when there is bad weather around. By not doing so, you are exposing yourselves to weather conditions and if it rains in the middle of a game, it could take another hour or more to get the ground back in shape to play. Gavaskar cited the Eden Gardens example, where the entire ground is under covers if there is a threat of bad weather. The question isn’t only about money. The question…

Exactly a month from now, the Indian national football team will play the Asian Cup in Doha. Pitted against teams like Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria, it will be one of their toughest assignments in a while. In fact, India hasn’t played a slew of higher-ranked teams like these in years, and this will be a big test for Sunil Chhetri and his teammates. And soon after the Asian Cup, focus will shift to the next set of World Cup qualifiers in March 2024. India have never made the third round of World Cup qualifiers and it would be a historic…

I wanted to write a very different piece. In fact, I had almost finished my copy before I decided to press the delete button out of frustration. While I still feel delighted about the WPL auction and what happened with Kashvee Gautam and Vrinda Dinesh, I am equally gutted by the toothless performance of the women’s team against England. No WPL auction can help take the game ahead if the national team continues to play spineless cricket. The truth is the India women’s team has won very few tournaments of significance. Some individual efforts stand out, but there are no…

For far too long, the women’s game had to draw its identity from the men’s version. Shafali Verma was the Virender Sehwag of the women’s game and so on. It finally stopped earlier this year in India, when the Women’s Premier League (WPL) was organised with serious success. With 951 crores paid for broadcast rights and 4669 crores for the five franchises, the women’s game finally had an identity of its own. With a further 1.5 crores added to the auction purse for each team, it is now a brand in its own right and a beginning has been made.…

6 years back this week in December was an experience of a lifetime. Looking back the thrill and amazement has stayed the same. He had just about settled down in his chair for the interview when I decided to try and see if I could unleash a bit of a tackle. ‘Cristiano Ronaldo claims he is the greatest’, I said. ‘How do you react to it?’, I asked El Diego. As his interpreter translated the question for him, I thought I sensed a degree of unease. Clearly I was wrong. All of a sudden he burst out into a fit…