Not playing in the Asia Cup had given Virat Kohli’s record-breaking stint a breather for a week or two, which restarted as soon as the skipper lifted his bat against Windies, as he became the fastest batsman in ODIs to reach 10,000 runs. It is inevitable and perhaps imperative now that the decade-old vogue “Tendulkar” is replaced by “Kohli”. It wasn’t easy for Kohli though. His ruffian attitude, whether it be him celebrating a wicket or responding to a reporter at the press conference, has never been considered apt for the next Indian generation to choose as an idol. But do we have a choice? He is like the Old Testament’s Gods living on Mount Olympus, who were ruthless and imposing in their behaviour but at the same time, omnipotent. No matter how much one dislikes Kohli’s adamant countenance, at the end of the day, he is indomitable with the bat and every other player is forced to bow in front of him. Is his behaviour exemplary? Maybe not. But, is his hard work and focus on work unparalleled worth inspiring millions? Without a shred of doubt. Besides, Kohli is aptly what the trending Bollywood song “Gold Taamba” states – “Anti-hero ka hainzamana”.

India came from the World Wrestling Championship with their only achievement as Pooja Dhanda winning bronze. In the absence of the likes of Sushil Kumar and Vinesh Phogat, India’s wrestling contingent needed to have a good measure of where they stood ahead of the Olympics. Not only for that particular contingent, but wrestling would also be India’s best bet at the Olympics for the yellow metal as well. While India also has able athletes in badminton, athletics, weightlifting and others, none of them holds as much assurance as for the wrestlers. Both Kumar and Phogat have the ability to overcome any opponent thrown at them with the latter in the form of her life. And though Pooja might not be that shining a star yet, her win against 2017 European champion Grace Jacob Bullen does boost India. The match started with Pooja taking a comprehensive 4-1 lead with a counter attack, which had hinted at the things to come. It was followed by a roll that increased her lead to 6-1 by the end of the first period. Post the restart, she quickly stunned her opponent with a four-point throw to take to a 10-2 lead. Though Bullen added five points after that, it was never enough as Pooja became the first woman in last six years to win a bronze in this tournament.

Not many know but ISL’s official website flashes English Premier League as their “strategic partner”. And the management seems to have taken things a tad bit seriously in copying every nuance of the 16-year-old league, which could do more harm than good in the long run. Despite widely believed to be the best league in the world in terms of both competition and popularity, English Premier League has numerous flaws and the one that is currently trending is sacking managers. The cut-throat competition and the lump sum money that clubs earn from TV rights have blinded many sides in the greed of immediate success. Consequently, a manager’s tenure is decreasing every season with the sword of sack over his shoulder hardly letting him work in sanity. And ISL is religiously following the same path, oblivious of the fact that this strategy of their strategic partner is not worth strategizing at all. Miguel Angel Portugal’s sack after just two losses from the opening three games of FC Pune City doesn’t bode well either for the club or for the league. But, Premier League has shown time and again that a manager change has often brought on a good form of the team in the immediate run no matter the long-term consequences - something we hope ISL clubs don't have to go through.

It’s amazing how fast the “Me too” movement has spread across the country just weeks after Tanushree Dutta had alleged actor Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her. Not only in the film industry but the movement seeped into every other discipline like journalism and BCCI, with its CEO Rahul Johri alleged for the same by an anonymous Twitter user. Steps were taken soon with the CEO not allowed to attend meetings although COA head Vinod Rai hadn’t asked him to step down from the position despite seven cricket associations and another COA member Diana Edulji demanding his sack. Now, with Johri denying all allegations and being asked to stay on leave, another anonymous person has come up with similar allegations and this time she has Mumbai captain Shishir Hattangadi ready to come forward and testify against Johri for her. COA have immediately come up with a three-judge panel to probe the allegations and get to the end of it amidst BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary questioning the manner in which the panel was formed. Given the enormous power that a body like BCCI enjoys, it won’t be entirely surprising if Jorhi comes out unscathed but the way it is being played, BCCI’s already tainted image would only become uglier.