Author: Boria Majumdar

Yesterday, I had written a column saying that Rohit Sharma’s decision to travel, or not, for the Perth Test was entirely his, and no one else had the right to be moral police and say whether it was right or wrong. As expected, there were a lot of trolls who decided to comment and abuse. One suggested that Rohit should have planned such “trivial family things” keeping in mind the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Another amazingly sensitive person went a step further to say that cricket is a masculine game, and Rohit, by not traveling, was not being a man! These…

There have been a lot of questions asked of whether Rohit Sharma should stay away from one of the Test matches for personal reasons when he is captain. More so with a lot on the line for Indian cricket. Some have given the examples of Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni, and said that Rohit should have followed their template and been with the team. The truth is there is no right or wrong in this. Rohit can’t be judged by anyone else’s standards. It is entirely his personal decision and he is very much entitled to it. A…

Mohun Bagan’s fans were thrilled when A-League legend, Australian star Jamie Maclaren, joined the team for this season. Though he faced an early setback due to an injury, he made a strong comeback. He has already made history by scoring against both Mohammedan Sporting Club and East Bengal respectively. As he gears up for the game against Odisha FC on Sunday, he had a freewheeling chat with RevSportz’s Chief Editor, Boria Majumdar. Maclaren shared his thoughts on scoring in the derby, his connection with Mohun Bagan fans, his love for Indian food, and more. Here are some highlights from the…

Anyone who watched KL Rahul play in South Africa just a year ago will know he has the ability. It was one of the best Test match innings played in recent times. And yet, even the most ardent Rahul fan will agree that he hasn’t done justice to his talent. A few excellent innings to go with a number of ordinary ones, and we are all still searching for the real Rahul. Yesterday, at the MCG, he did not really get in. Four balls aren’t an index to judge anyone. Can he be the answer to India’s opening conundrum at…

If you are a follower of Indian football, the one name that you would have been elated to see in the list of 26 players announced by Manolo Marquez for the friendly against Malaysia is that of Sandesh Jhingan. Needless to say, India missed Jhingan in the World Cup qualifiers against Afghanistan and Kuwait, and his presence could have made a decisive difference. Out with an injury suffered at the AFC Asian Cup in January, Jhingan is now back at his best for his club, FC Goa, and is also all set to don the Blue Tigers jersey once more.…

The negativity surrounding the 3-0 whitewash is still very real. All of a sudden, everything is rotten about Indian cricket. The players are all hopeless, no one has any commitment, no one cares, no one hurts and so on. Make no mistake, 0-3 hurts. And it should. India were bad, and that’s the truth. But India aren’t the first fancied team to lose in sport, and surely will not be the last. Brazil lost 1-7 at home in a football World Cup semi-final. Football didn’t grind to a halt in Brazil as a result. Lionel Messi decided to retire after…

After suffering a humiliating whitewash at home, Team India will now look to redeem itself in Australia against the Aussies in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The five-match away Test series will be a tough one. To achieve a positive result, two veteran players will need to step up: Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The year 2024 has not been kind to these two batters in Tests. So far, Virat has averaged 22.72 across 12 innings, while Rohit has averaged 29.40 over 21 innings. Ahead of this epic series, former Team India fielding coach R. Sridhar spoke about these stalwarts…

I have said this in the past, and I am saying it again. There can be no second Sachin Tendulkar in red-ball cricket. He was the greatest, and a genius of a very different magnitude. Having said that, Virat Kohli is also a once-in-a-generation player who must be hurting hugely after what happened against New Zealand. Much like Rohit Sharma, Kohli was not at his best. Or remotely close to it. But that’s where I think things will work for him and India in Australia. A proud performer, he will go back to the drawing board and figure it out.…

Amid all the anger, the IPL is always a soft target. India have lost a home series – emphatically so – and hence it is time to blame the IPL. Blame the retention process, for that’s what must have occupied the players mind space’ before this Test. Nothing could be more wrong. Let’s deep dive to explore this a little. For a second, assume that the IPL retention was on the players’ minds. The one who was deeply involved in the retention drama and who decided at the last to put himself into the auction was Rishabh Pant. And needless…

The Mumbai deck was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no real demons either. And yet the Indian batters put up a display which has no rational explanation. The issues started at the top. Rohit Sharma can never bring his white-ball approach to Test cricket and be successful. This is a very different format and the captain has to trust his defence, which he isn’t at the moment. The result was the most ordinary shot of all, with a fielder placed exactly for such a mistake. Shubman Gill, one of the better players for India in the series, played…