Author: Boria Majumdar

Finally, a good old-fashioned Test match that goes the distance. After the two-day farce in Melbourne, Sydney produced a belter that had something for everyone, and we did see some really good performances from both sides. Although Australia seem to be on course to win the game, it has had its share of ebbs and flows that you associate with Test cricket. I will speak about two separate efforts to prove my point. The first was the effort from Jacob Bethell in the English second innings. A real hard-fought hundred from a hugely talented youngster, it could mark the maturing…

Finally, some good news. Football will restart in the country, and we will see both the ISL and the I-League take place from February. On a day full of hectic meetings, the AIFF managed to get approval from its Executive Committee, brought the clubs together for a meeting at 3pm, and finally had Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya brief the media after 5pm. First things first: the structure isn’t perfect. None of us expected it to be when everyone is racing against time. But, at least we will have football, and that is the most important thing at the moment. Both…

I wrote a column yesterday asking whether the Bangladesh response was a political one or based on genuine security concerns. A lot of readers from Bangladesh have expressed rather radical responses to the piece. Frankly, this is expected. These days, you don’t expect reason; rather, you expect volatility and ultra-nationalist jingoism. I also said that I understand where the BCB was coming from. With India stopping Mustafizur Rahman from playing in the IPL, they were under compulsion to react. And with elections coming up, the reaction came from the very top. The government can’t be seen to be weak,…

You speak to people in the know, and the AIFF roadmap to salvage Indian football becomes clear. First, the AIFF is determined to stage the league. In fact, the league happening is now a certainty. What shape or form it will take will become clear in the next few days. “We have to hold the league, for there has to be continuity,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity. “Else, Indian football will suffer a death blow. For the sake of our players and our fans, we have to do whatever we can to hold the league. “We will…

Much has already been said about Bangladesh’s decision not to come to India for the T20 World Cup. Clearly, it is a reaction to what happened the day before, and India’s decision not to allow Mustafizur Rahman to play in the IPL. Miffed by the call, the political establishment in Bangladesh had to react – and they did. Till this point, it was all fine. But the reason cited – security considerations and the safety of the team and players – is where things become problematic. First, security wasn’t an issue till the day before. Everything was fine, and even…

The controversy that erupted on Saturday with the ouster of Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL turned into a full blown crisis a day later, with the Bangladesh Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul posting on social media that he commends the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) decision to not sending the Bangladesh cricket team to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Nazrul had earlier written that he’d request the I&B ministry to stop the telecast of the IPL matches in India. “An emergency meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was held this afternoon to discuss recent…

In this episode of Backstage with Boria, Gurpreet Sandhu, captain of the men’s national football team, shares his thoughts on the grim realities of Indian football. He talks about uncertainty around the league, the ripple effect it will have on the future of football in India, the impact inside the Indian football ecosystem, the need for Indian players to fight for their own competition and why he is still optimistic that India won’t go a full season without having its own league. Boria: How are you dealing with this whole football situation? Gurpreet: Wishing the viewers a very Happy New…

As my readers read this piece, Usman Khawaja is out there at the SCG one final time for Australia, in what will be his last Test match. Each time I see him bat or on the field, I am reminded of his press conference the day before. While I am not here to judge Usman, the question I want to ask is this: does he feel any joy having played cricket for Australia for a good decade and a half? Does he feel pride in wearing the Baggy Green for as many as 88 Test matches? Or was he…

In a major development that will have wider political ramifications, the BCCI have asked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Mustafizur Rahman from the squad, and KKR have already done so, following due protocol. First things first, the BCCI cannot make this call unilaterally. A seasoned administrator and a legal eagle, Debajit Saikia could not have taken this call without back-channel talks with the central government. Clearly, the decision was taken at the External Affairs Ministry level, in consultation with the Home Ministry, and the BCCI may have merely implemented it. Now to the decision itself. With the rise in…

Most countries have now announced their respective 15-member squads for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. India have done so a week earlier. The thrust, may I say, has been on spin. Australia have focused on the same and the CA post on X highlighted the thought process. The question to ask is do we in India have the spin bowling ability to win us the World Cup and how effective will spin be in the competition? One of the players who has kind of slipped under the radar in the year 2025 despite making real…