Author: Boria Majumdar

The Wankhede Stadium, November 14-16 2013, marked the end of an era in Indian sports. Not out on 38 at the end of the first day, Sachin Tendulkar set the stadium alight with some breath-taking shots first thing in the morning on day 2. A trademark straight drive for four to bring up his fifty, and ‘Sachin, Sachin’ chants were going through the roof in the packed stadium. The only question doing the rounds was whether he would get a century in his last innings? He couldn’t. But what he did was no less of an achievement. His vintage batsmanship…

It was June 2023, and we had just broken the news that the hybrid model was the way forward for the Asia Cup and that it would be announced soon. Within moments of breaking the story, I remember getting a call from a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) functionary who asked me why I did not give credit to Najam Sethi, whose idea it was to play the Asia Cup on the hybrid model? When I rebutted saying it was the Asian Cricket Council’s idea, I was asked to verify my sources and told I did not know the ground…

Is there a method to the madness or is the auction a world in itself, which is governed by its own laws and rules, where every plan and strategy is shunned after a while? Do the franchises go by hope and expect that they will be lucky or is there logic behind every buy? Are some of the buys justified? In an auction can there ever be a pattern to the spending? Finally, have the owners moved away from being emotional with their buys and learnt to take hard business calls keeping in mind the huge spends associated with the…

I am not a political analyst, nor is my understanding of American politics anything to write home about. But what stood out for me from Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign, and what made me write this, was how he used the alternate, new-age media for his winning election march. Without getting into the rights and wrongs of it, the truth is that the traditional, mainstream media was largely opposed to Trump. Having realised that early on, he tapped into the digital media domain, and the new-age platforms that are all parallel establishments and fast gaining ground. That he reached…

I have known Sanjay (Manjrekar) for years. And may I say, I enjoy speaking to him. Having said that, I have never understood his urge of being different. His latest tweet on Gautam Gambhir, may I say, wasn’t necessary. In fact, it is unbecoming of a senior professional like Sanjay. It comes across as bitter and unnecessary. First, I did not find anything objectionable with the Gautam Gambhir press conference in Mumbai on Monday. Second, I have been part of press meets which are far more mundane than the Gautam one. Or far more volatile. For Sanjay to say what…

There was a point in Gautam Gambhir’s press conference where it seemed his composure was slightly off balance. Rather, he was a tad irritated. It was when he was asked about a Ricky Ponting comment on Virat Kohli. Gautam, the feisty character that he is, shot back: “What does Ponting know about Indian cricket”… That’s what brings me to ask why the question was asked in the first place. Why does Ponting saying something about an Indian batter become a national headline in India? Does Sunil Gavaskar saying something or Sachin Tendulkar saying something about an Australian batter become a…

This is a series that was long overdue. That there are deep co-relations between sport and business is known. Corporate leaders, more often than not, give sporting references when they speak and are often influenced by lessons learnt from sport when they act in the boardroom. What drives them? How are these leaders backstage? What has sport taught them? How do they deal with adversity and failure? How do they motivate large teams? What is key to decision-making? And in all of this, where does sport come in? These are some of the questions we have often asked ourselves. Now…

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…