Author: Boria Majumdar

The Indian team is playing some of its best cricket in the World Cup. Four wins out of four, and the manner in which Rohit Sharma’s team has gone about the job so far has been most heartening. They have been near-flawless, and it is no accident that India are eyeing the top rung of the ladder. Just as we feel a sense of delight watching the team, we feel a serious sense of shame seeing a section of the fans and the way they have conducted themselves in the stadiums. India are hosts of the World Cup, and fans…

The double-hundred was there for the taking. But as is very David Warner, he was trying to push the scoring rate even further and perhaps not thinking of the individual landmark. Having struggled in the first few games, Warner needed a big innings to make a statement. For him and for Australia. Sadly for Pakistan, they were exposed to his ire. On a day when Warner is in this sort of mood, there is no stopping him. Having known Warner for years, I can say with certainty that he isn’t one to just hold on to his position. Even before…

With the advent of DRS technology umpires have been reduced to being robots on the field. For everything they have the option of going up. It is a thankless job. You do it well and no one will speak about you. You make a mistake and you are the talk of the town. And when you are umpiring a cricket match where Virat Kohli has scored a 100, it is near impossible you will get even a line of newsprint. And yet Richard Kettleborough has. He is trending on social media platforms this morning as well, 12 hours after…

Niccolo Campriani is a great champion of our times. An Olympic legend who won back-to-back golds in London 2012 and Rio 2016, and then went on to make a significant impact on sport as an administrator. His work on the refugee project with India’s own Abhinav Bindra has helped change lives. Now as Sports Director of Los Angeles 2028, Campriani was in Mumbai for the 141st IOC session. It was a fairly long conversation on Tuesday morning. It lasted more than 30 minutes. And yet, the time just flew. With Nicco, a mind like few others, you are able to…

I was with Saurav Ghosal in Delhi when the Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president made the announcement that the Executive Board had recommended the inclusion of all five sports put forth by LA 28 to the session in Mumbai. From there on, it was just a formality and Ghosal knew it. Soon after President Bach made the announcement, Saurav and I looked at each other. He was all smiles, and knew the inevitable question was coming. And I had to ask him. The conversation thereafter touched upon a number of things, and time just flew. Here are the…

The story of cricket in Afghanistan is a fascinating account of the power of modern sport to give new meaning to life. From playing with sticks and plastic bags that passed off as bats and cricket balls on the streets of Kabul, to taking on and beating England last night, Afghanistan’s blow-hot-blow-cold story has been phenomenal. And it can’t simply be attributed to talent. A deep-seated desire to combat the challenges life has presented them with, including death at every corner and a kind of resilience that has little parallel, has seen them rise to the top ten in world…

A bunch of kids who have never attended an event like this leave alone address it. To even think what must be going through their minds is jaw dropping. And yet each of the kids were full of poise. When Bharti said “Abhinav Bhaiya”, I have never attended an event like this or spoken at an event like this”, I was hoping she doesn’t choke. In fact, was praying for her. She did not. Rather, she and the rest of the OVEP kids were all full of verve. Their passion was palpable. The pride was evident. In front of IOC…

Sport is all about leadership. And Indian sport was privileged to witness it last night in two places – Ahmedabad and Mumbai. In Ahmedabad, Rohit Sharma led from the front with his captaincy and his batting in taking down Pakistan. In Mumbai, India put on a show led by Nita Ambani, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, which witnessed Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, making a public announcement that India would bid to host the Olympic Games in 2036. But what is most significant is that the Prime Minister did not just mention 2036. He also mentioned that India would…

What is it about an India-Pakistan match that gets everyone to drop everything else and watch it? Why would you pay a few thousand pounds for a ticket and fly into Ahmedabad from the UK, USA, distant parts of India or any other destination in the world? Why is the clamour for tickets as crazy as it is, with people wanting to see this game and nothing else? Why, despite the fact that neither of these two sides have the best record in ICC events, is this considered the final before the final? Is it because of all the history…

The World Cup is not simply a cricket tournament. Rather, like all mega events on this scale, it is so much more. Most importantly, it is about leadership. And a leader need not be the captain all the time. In fact, there is a difference between a leader and a captain. While the captain can indeed be the leader, like Rohit Sharma, India also have Virat Kohli, who is every bit a leader though he is no longer the captain. Kohli asking the crowd to stop booing Naveen-ul-Haq, for example, is the perfect leadership lesson. That’s sport. In doing so,…