There are some shows that become a part of you. Backstage With Boria is one such. RevSportz started its journey with this show in December 2021 and it has only grown better with time. I have had the privilege of interviewing global superstars as part of the show, and also homegrown men and women who are the superstars of tomorrow.
The best part of it is how almost all of my guests have opened up. To let your guard down isn’t easy for many of them, and yet that’s what we have been able to do. For Venkatesh Iyer, KKR vice-captain and my first guest this season, it was hard to open up and say that things happened way too fast with him and that may have impacted his performance in his second season in 2022.
“In Dubai in 2021, I could do no wrong,” Venkatesh told me. “I was scoring runs, taking incredible catches, picking wickets. Things were all happening fast. Soon, the national call-up also happened. Maybe in my eagerness in thinking about the 2022 World T20 in Australia, I did not focus on the present, which was IPL 2022. It may have impacted my performance and taught me a very important lesson. It taught me to live in the present and not think too far ahead. Just focus on my performance, for things will surely happen if they have to.”
Speaking on the 23.75 crore price tag, which in many ways is a crown of thorns, Venkatesh was candid. “You know people will speak about it,” he said. “If things don’t go your way, more so. I shall be lying if I say I did not feel good when the paddle kept going up. To think you are being bought for 23.75 crores is unbelievable. For anyone. And I am no different. But when you play, it is not about a 20-lakh player or a 20-crore player. It is about KKR and us as a collective. The franchise has done everything for me. Now, it’s my turn.”
The series, which starts today, will have guests from across sports and will be a true celebration. So, while we relive the last one year with D Gukesh on April 22, the day of his Candidates triumph, we will also deep dive with skipper Harmanpreet Singh on how the near-impossible feat of beating Team GB with ten men was achieved at Paris 2024. We will indeed set up the England-India five-Test series in June 2025, and also build up to the World Athletics Championships in Japan. Multi-sport is the focus, and to get the best to share their experiences is the goal.
A series of this scale and quality is impossible without corporate support. And I have been privileged to have the support of Ageas Federal Life Insurance for the show from Day 1. We have now done it for three years, and have decided to partner for the next two. It is essential I thank everyone at AFLI for their unstinting support. At no point have they asked me why I am featuring a particular athlete. Never was I asked why Paralympic sport, and not cricket, for this week? They have respected my editorial judgments and have given the show wholehearted support. To Jude Gomes, Erum Kidwai and everyone at AFLI, thank you. Here’s to more excellent work together.
The post “I did not focus on the present”: Venkatesh Iyer’s candour starts off a new season of Backstage with Boria appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports.
