Author: Boria Majumdar

To be published by Simon and Schuster in January 2024. Authored by Boria Majumdar and Vineel Krishna Foreword by Shri Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Odisha. Odisha has forever been a favourite destination for many of us growing up in Bengal. My first memory of Odisha is my father telling me that a puja vacation was incomplete without going to Puri and Bhubaneshwar. In fact, it was a ritual. Every Puja, we would go to the neighbouring state for a good two weeks. It was affordable and quick and, may I say, thoroughly enjoyable. I loved visiting the Jagannath Temple, and…

The aura of the Boxing Day Test. The moment you mention it in the South African context, fast and bouncy wickets come to mind. Fast bowlers running in and hitting the deck, getting the ball to jump from awkward lengths, batsmen finding it difficult to adjust to the bounce and some even getting hit, much to the excitement of a hostile, jingoistic crowd. Over the years, South African fast bowlers, now led by Kagiso Rabada, have ruled in home conditions against most visiting teams. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and company will know that reality well. They will know…

RevSportz is two years of age today. And I would not be exaggerating if I said that the last 12 months have been a dream. We organised our first sports conclave, Trailblazers, in March 2023 and managed to cover almost every sporting event from the ground. We had our colleagues in China for the Asian Games and the Asian Para Games, in Budapest for the World Athletics Championships, in Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup, in South Africa for the Women’s T20 World Cup, in London for the WTC final, in Birmingham for badminton’s All England, and much more. We…

There was one defining line in the BCCI press release issued on Thursday night – that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had asked to be rested from the white-ball leg of the South Africa tour. On the face of it, it stated a very simple fact. But deep down, it said much about what these two stalwarts have decided to prioritise. For a long time, we have heard that people prefer white-ball cricket over the red ball. There is a lot more money in white-ball cricket and many more eyeballs. But what defines you as a cricketer is what you…

As the dust settles on Hardik Pandya’s much-talked-about move back to Mumbai Indians, and IPL fans come to terms with Shubman Gill being handed the leadership of the Gujarat Titans, some interesting trends have started to emerge on the horizon. For GT, the easiest thing under the circumstances would have been to go to Kane Williamson as captain for the forthcoming season. A man of proven leadership pedigree, no one would have doubted such a call. It was the safe and conventional option for a franchise which had to let go of a leader who had taken the team to…

I was in the commentary box in Dubai in November 2021 when news came in that Rahul Dravid had been formally appointed head coach of India’s men’s cricket team. Sir Clive Lloyd, one of the greatest captains the sport has seen, was very excited by the decision. “Rahul Dravid will be a very successful head coach for India,” he told me. “Someone who has scored 13,000 Test runs will have the respect in the dressing room to tell anyone where they are going wrong. His personality is such that he will not want the limelight and yet get the job…

I had written a piece yesterday morning saying Virat and Rohit should both feature in the Indian team for the T-20 world cup in June 2024. And the piece was backed by reason. Both have played stellar cricket in the recently concluded world cup and were the two batting mainstays of the Indian team. Additionally, Virat is a livewire on the field and saves a few extra runs in every game. Finally, they are the only two brands in world cricket at the moment who draw crowds to stadiums. They are the Messi and Ronaldo equivalent of cricket and the…

Should Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play the T20 World Cup in June 2024? Should two of India’s greatest have one more crack at a world title? This debate started the moment the World Cup final was over. With the title eluding India, it is more pertinent than ever. Both these legends played a stellar hand in India’s campaign, and the way they both performed makes this discussion all the more relevant. While some reports have suggested that neither Rohit nor Kohli will feature in T20s for India, it is important to question such reports, for logic suggests otherwise. Virat…

We have celebrated MS Dhoni for the 2011 World Cup win and rightly so. He steered the ship and the buck, so to say, stopped with him. But the one person who was pivotal in winning India two key games, the quarterfinal against Australia and semi-final against Pakistan, also decided to leave the international stage on the same day, 15 August 2020. A white-ball champion, Suresh Raina’s contribution to the 2011 World Cup win was less than anyone else’s. And on the day he turns 37, we look back at that tournament which stands out as the highlight of an…

Why do we watch sport? Why is it unique? Do we only watch for the end result? Is it only about winning and losing? Or is it also about the effort, the never-give-up attitude and the fight? Isn’t that also what sport is about and part of its beauty? Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were down 13-20 in the decider against Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the finals of the China Masters 750 Super Series. The match was almost done. In front of a raucous Chinese crowd, the final point was to be played. More a formality than…