The jury has voted, the verdict’s out and this being January that can only mean that it’s time to all-hail Lionel Messi again. Since two-thirds of the voters comprise national team captains and coaches and with 41.6% of the total votes going to Messi, there really should have been no debate about an unprecedented fourth Ballon D’Or for the peerless ball wizard of this generation if not of all time. Read more

Although their fans and media always stoke the rivalry, India and Pakistan players always show a healthy respect to each other. With most of them speaking the same language, sledging is almost unknown despite the intense pressure they play their games under. They at best rib each other on the field in a language both sets of players understand. Read more

A confidential order from who-can’t-be-refused is just a click away from being sent to Nagpur, the venue for the last Test. This is how it reads: Should England survive Kolkata too, slip in some burglars into the England nets in the guise of net bowlers to steal all their bats. Read more

For the next one month, spin will be the most used and debated term as India look to tame England in a four-Test series at home. Since skipper MS Dhoni gave a call for preparing turning tracks at home, there seems to be an anxiety to hit the visiting batsmen on dry surfaces that crack and throw up puffs of dust at least in the first half of the five-day encounter, if not on the opening day itself. Read more

Unlike his usual uneventful run, there is a flurry of activity and much excitement in the current domestic season, which will hit top gear when the Ranji Trophy tournament kicks off on Friday. Normally shunned by our India players, who are either busy turning out for the country or enjoying a break before plunging into action afresh, many of them are this time are hoping to iron out their flaws before the England Test series kicks off mid November. Read more

I’ll break up this blog into two parts. One is a VERY short and concise guide to what all you can expect in terms of off-track activities during the build-up to the Indian GP. And the other is a VERY long-winded guide to what can be expected on the track. Read more

It’s always tempting to think of a development in Indian motorsport to be the catalyst for sweeping and immediate changes that will put the country’s racing drivers on the international map. Read more

It’s been five whole days since the quadruple-drama began. As tennis fans we all expected a clash of egos (as Indian tennis history has repeated itself umpteen number of times before a mega event) but the drama unfolding currently has probably reached its zenith. Read more

Expectations of some high octane football, players coming out their club season-jetlags, people wary of racial abuses in Poland and Ukraine — a part of Europe that has often been in news for these reasons — the Euro 2012 is already keeping sports writers and fans for a better of the world glued to the subject. Read more

Let’s get one thing out of the way regarding the game of chess and Viswanathan Anand’s fifth world title. It requires a lot of brains, it is extremely competitive because of its accessibility to people around the world, because of which Anand deserves a lot of praise for his Moscow triumph. Read more