Author: Boria Majumdar

The cricket world called him a magician. He could do anything with the cricket ball. But the only spin he couldn’t control was the spin of life. A man of incredible talent, Shane Warne was born blessed. He could do unimaginable things with the ball on the field. Win games and stun opponents. Bowl the Ball of the Century, and win Australia many a match single-handedly. And 30 years ago today, he bowled one of the those balls that will forever be talked about in the annals of world cricket. You can still decode the delivery frame by frame. Warne…

In a candid conversation which lasted an hour, Greg Chappell answered many questions relating to the World Test Championship (WTC) final. In this, the second part of the conversation, he addressed the unique challenges of playing Test cricket in England in June, and the difficulties that players on both sides might face when they switch to the red ball after two months of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). You can read the first part of the chat here. Boria: In 2021, India got to England on the back of half a season of IPL and a Covid-19 lockdown. New…

David Warner’s statement before training on Saturday afternoon, that he was looking to close his illustrious Test career at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in January 2024 has set the cricket world talking. From having spoken to people close to Warner, he hasn’t firmed up his mind just yet. As a very proud athlete, Warner could even call it a day after the Lord’s Test, the second of the Ashes series, if he thinks he isn’t contributing much anymore. At the moment, however, he is feeling really good about his game and has his sights set on the World Test…

PV Sindhu, one of India’s great champions, had lost her eighth final in a row in 2019 when I managed to speak to her. Things between her and Pullela Gopichand, her coach, had not yet gone south, and Gopi was with her when I called. Sindhu, clearly, was distraught. I could hear her howl on the phone and her words, “I need to get over this. People think I can’t play under pressure. What they forget is that winning a semi-final under pressure is equally important.” Sindhu has since gone on to win the World Championship, and make history for…

“Experience can be a double-edged sword,” says Greg Chappell. “In a conversation with Sachin [Tendulkar] some years back, I remember telling him this. He asked me why it is that batting gets difficult as the years go by, and I said to him that as a young player who doesn’t have the experience, all you do is react to the ball. You see the ball, and play it on merit. Your mind doesn’t think much. But with experience, you know what to expect. You know what the bowlers want to do, what can come at you and where, and you…

I remember speaking to WV Raman about Ravi Ashwin once. Raman is one of the most respected cricket voices in the country, and one who analyses the game with a lot of precision. He weighs his words with loads of wisdom. “Ashwin was very confident about his abilities, and the thing was, he was not afraid to evolve,” said Raman. “Lots of people fall into the trap of being content with whatever is achieved, and success in first-class cricket. Some become content and have reluctance to evolve, or develop as players. There comes a stage where some people take the…

I was in the commentary box in Dubai when news came in that Rahul Dravid had been formally appointed Head Coach of the Indian 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 said. “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 done. Wish the West…

In the first Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham in 2018, India compromised on the solidity of Cheteshwar Pujara at No.3 to accommodate a fifth bowler. The team couldn’t chase 194 in the fourth innings. Kohli was stellar, but he had no support. This became the leitmotif of that tour, despite the odd contribution from Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Kohli stood out as the lone warrior with the bat. And despite a creditable bowling performance, India received a 1–4 series drubbing, raising questions about the team’s prospects in overseas conditions. “We met at the end of the last Test…

In a video that went viral at the end of India’s 2021 tour of Australia, the BCCI put out what Ajinkya Rahane, stand-in captain for three of the four Tests, had said to his teammates at the end of the Brisbane victory. What stood out for us were the two men Rahane singled out. He congratulated Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist-spin bowler, for his work ethic and told him that he would soon get an opportunity. Yadav was the only member of the squad who hadn’t played a Test in Australia. He also thanked young Kartik Tyagi for his contribution…

In November 2013, after playing his 200th Test and his last international game, Sachin Tendulkar sat in the Wankhede Stadium dressing room, all by himself, contemplating the moment. Here’s what happened next, in his own words: “As I sat in the dressing room, Virat [Kohli] walked up to me. I could see tears in his eyes as he approached me and held out a gift for me. It was evidently something very close to his heart. He said his dad had given it to him [a family heirloom for good luck] and he’d always wondered who he would pass…