Author: Boria Majumdar

If anyone calls Afghanistan a minnow, we now have to doubt that person’s understanding of cricket. Let’s all agree that as a team, Afghanistan have come a long way. Call them minnows at your own peril. They are here to write their own destiny and, in doing so, prove sceptics wrong. But for what was probably the greatest innings in World Cup history from Glenn Maxwell, they would have been within striking distance of a place in the World Cup semi-finals. A win against Australia, five-time champions, would have easily been the greatest achievement in Afghan sport. That they aren’t…

With the recent news that Saudi Arabia, which has invested billions of dollars into sports over the last few years, has shown an interest in the Indian Premier League (IPL), who better to talk to about the subject than Lalit Modi, whose brainchild the league was? Modi’s creation utterly transformed the cricket landscape. But what does the future hold, especially given the interest from Saudi, whose football league has already poached several stars from European leagues? In this in-depth conversation with Boria Majumdar, RevSportz editor-in-chief, Modi talks of this, how the IPL has grown and why he feels the 30-billion…

A RevSportz Exclusive With the recent news that Saudi Arabia, which has invested billions of dollars into sports over the last few years, has shown an interest in the Indian Premier League (IPL), who better to talk to about the subject than Lalit Modi, whose brainchild the league was? Modi’s creation utterly transformed the cricket landscape. But what does the future hold, especially given the interest from Saudi, whose football league has already poached several stars from European leagues? In this in-depth conversation with Boria Majumdar, RevSportz editor-in-chief, Modi talks of this, how the IPL has grown and why he…

Pressure. Perhaps the most-used word when it comes to sport. Everyone who has played sport will tell you there is always pressure. From fans, parent bodies, sponsors, family and, most importantly, from yourself. At the end of the day, a sportsperson is alone grappling with his or her own mind. A mind that is full of clutter and constantly fighting to be freed. Of all the thoughts that keep flooding in, of the possibilities that keep disturbing the equilibrium and finally all the hope and expectation of what can be. The possibilities, options and the potential going forward. Sachin Tendulkar,…

It was Virat Kohli’s first tour down under with the senior team. And at Perth in January 2012, Australia, as they often do, had managed to get under his skin. Not able to handle the heckling from spectators, Kohli descended to low-level combat. He showed the middle finger to a particularly noisy section of the crowd after they called him a ‘wanker’. The anger (mis)management was a feature of early Kohli, and there were concerns if it would get in the way of a full blossoming of his talent. Two months down the line, it was a very different story.…

For ages, winning the toss and batting first has been the preferred option in India in 50-over contests. On wickets that aid spin, teams have preferred to set targets rather than defend them. Not so, however, with this Indian team. The toss, may we say, has been taken out of the equation. Bat or bowl first doesn’t matter. With a bowling unit capable of skittling the opposition out, Captain Rohit Sharma isn’t really fussed about what happens with the coin. Against Sri Lanka, for example, on a good batting wicket, India posted a very good total after losing the toss.…

It was Mumbai, and it was India-Sri Lanka in a World Cup final. A match that will forever have a special place in the history of Indian cricket. A look back. April 2, 2011 had just turned to April 3. However, it was midnight like no other. Most of India had bid sleep a temporary farewell. It was party time. It was a haphazardly progressing passage of temporal sequences, where every bylane in every Indian city, irrespective of its geographical location, was engulfed in unimagined euphoria, commemorating the actualisation of world dominance. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru were partying. Guwahati…

“I want to perform for the team in all formats,” Mohammed Shami had said in one of our many conversations. “I am not bothered about the colour of the ball. Anytime the selectors, coaching staff, and captain show faith by giving the ball to me, all I want to do is to fulfill my responsibility as a bowler. I don’t think too much about records and all, or which format I am playing more. If you are playing for India, you have to give your best. That’s it.” And that’s what he has been doing since he was handed the…

His 100th match as captain. And yet, he will say with the very same smile, “The captain is the least important person in the team. No, not in terms of performance. When it comes to batting, you need to lead from the front. Set the tone. But on the field, the captain comes after all his players.” A very Rohit Sharma kind of statement, and one that sums up his cricket philosophy. Ask any member of the Indian team, and all of them swear by their skipper. They know his door is always open. They know they can confide in…

Hockey India has just announced the appointment of Peter Haberl as mental conditioning coach for the Indian women’s hockey team. The release said, “Haberl, a licensed psychologist, who hails from Colorado Springs, USA, will work alongside the Indian Women’s Hockey Team Chief Coach Janneke Schopman… “Haberl comes with prior experience of working with high-performing teams and individuals. He has worked at nine Olympic Games with medal-winning athletes and teams, providing innovative, cutting-edge mindfulness techniques and team-building strategies to optimise performance under pressure. With the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to be held in Ranchi from January 13 to 19, 2024,…