Author: Boria Majumdar

Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are the ones not playing Ranji Trophy games for their respective teams, starting tomorrow. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, who did not feature in the matches last week, will however turn up for Delhi and Karnataka respectively. Ravindra Jadeja, the star for Saurashtra against Delhi last week, will turn up again in what is a must-win game for his team. In sum, most national team players will play just one game. While the clamour to play domestic cricket is good, the fact that most will end up playing just one match raises questions…

What do we want to achieve with the Tata Steel Trailblazers Conclave season 3? What’s the purpose and end goal? How can it contribute to the Indian sports eco-system? What does Indian sport need to do at the moment with an eye on 2036? We have been debating each of these questions for the last month or so. How do we express the philosophy of the conclave in three or four words? While we are conscious of what we want or aspire to achieve, it needs to be out there for everyone to see. What’s next for Indian sports?…

He had just saved the fourth shootout attempt from Great Britain, and it was a spectacular effort, to say the least. Just then, his reaction said it all. Half-crouched on the turf, PR Sreejesh was roaring. And with him, India. He knew his last dance had turned memorable, and the emotions had all spilled out. He was a step away from a second Olympic medal, and a fitting end to a glittering career. Imagine a team playing with 10 men for almost 45 minutes of the match. What does that do to a goalkeeper who knows his team is lacking…

It was the first over of India’s innings, and Jofra Archer was steaming in. The first delivery went past Abhishek Sharma’s edge, and it was evident he was flirting with danger. Had it been cricket from another era, Sharma would have chosen caution. He would have tried to play a couple of balls to get himself in. But then, this is a new Indian T20 outfit, and they live and die by the sword. Off the very second ball, Sharma put Archer away for a four over cover. The intent had been made known. And when Archer tried to tuck…

It was one of the best Sports Business conferences I have been part of. Doing it in collaboration with Professor Vijay Edward Pereira, it would have been a shame had we stopped the collaboration and left it as a one off. Almost each week since the Paris conference we have been planning how to keep working together. And that’s why I have real pleasure in announcing that Vijay, in his new role as Head of the Kedge Business School India (with Vijaybhoomi University) has come on board as Knowledge Partners of the Tata Steel Trailblazers conclave. The idea is to…

He isn’t in the Indian set-up anymore. Neither is he part of the IPL. From being the toast of the nation to being out in the wilderness, Shardul Thakur has seen it all. No one calls him Lord anymore, and the honeymoon is over. A long period out because of injury hasn’t helped, and Lord is no longer the headline. And yet, he does his job with passion and commitment. Just like he did yesterday against Jammu and Kashmir. Mumbai were reeling when Shardul walked out, and despite an injury, he made sure that they reached a competitive score in…

Sport has a very unique way of making a point. Thursday was a prime example. Each one of us is guilty of hyping up the return of stars to domestic cricket. The assumption was that they’d come back, score tons of runs and make it back to the national team. Domestic cricket, we are all guilty of portraying, is a piece of cake. Bowlers are there for the slaughter and stars like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and others would come and make merry. Tokenism – playing one domestic match is nothing more than that – was deemed the answer to…

Mid-March, 2020. It was time for the third and final ODI of the series between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens. It was a curtain-raiser of sorts before the IPL took over. That was when Covid wreaked havoc in our lives. The world had not yet come to terms with the virus, and vaccines and therapeutics were a fair distance away. Closure or lockdowns were the only solution, and on the evening of March 11, it was made known that the game had been called off as a precautionary measure. The IPL too was postponed, and Kolkata was…

Most bilateral T20I series lack context. Unless it is a World Cup year, such series are just about adding to players’ statistics and the board’s coffers. Not so this one. And the reason is Mohammed Shami. As he returns to bowl for India at the Eden Gardens tonight, all eyes will be on him. Is he fit and ready to lead India’s attack yet again? Can he bowl with the same pace and venom? Are the skill sets the same after 15 months of sitting out? Is the hunger the same and can he reproduce the magic? While T20 cricket…

I host events for a living. But then, only very few leave a mark. Monday night at the Eden Gardens was one such. When you have Sourav Ganguly, Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Mohammed Shami on stage with you and more than 100 young cricketers, men and women, in front of you as audience, it is your responsibility to ensure that those youth find the programme meaningful. That’s what I tried to do, and in the process, learnt a lot. Sample this from Shami. When I asked him what kept him going these painful 15 months since the 2023 World…