Why not every sporting moment needs to be a life lesson
In the age of LinkedIn, it seems every sporting moment must teach us something. But must it? Sometimes, a six is simply a six.
Updated : Nov 14, 2026 21:31 IST - 3 MINS READ
For most cricket fans, Abhishek Sharma’s extraordinary 113 off 38 balls against New Zealand was an exhilarating exhibition of power-hitting. But for many on LinkedIn, it was something more profound. | Photo Credit: AFP
For most cricket fans, Abhishek Sharma’s extraordinary 113 off 38 balls against New Zealand was an exhilarating exhibition of power-hitting. But for many on LinkedIn, it was something more profound. | Photo Credit: AFP
These days, every remarkable sporting performance finds resonance in the most unlikely places. LinkedIn, today’s great repository of professional wisdom, is increasingly filled with lessons in leadership, strategy, resilience and personal growth drawn from the exploits of professional athletes.
A century is no longer just a century. It is a masterclass in execution.
For most cricket fans, Abhishek Sharma’s extraordinary 113 off 38 balls against New Zealand was an exhilarating exhibition of power-hitting. But for many on LinkedIn, it was something more profound.
“This is what fearless execution looks like,” a post declared.
There are always three takeaways.
“Start with intent.
Trust your preparation.
Turn opportunities into results.”
And then comes the inevitable connection. “The same principles apply to business, leadership, and marketing.”
Abhishek’s approach, however, might not work so well in most offices. Charging down the corridor and attempting to hit everything out of the building could lead to an uncomfortable conversation with Human Resources.
Virat Kohli’s journey to 15,000 ODI runs has been built on nearly two decades of discipline, physical conditioning and constant adjustment. His success offers a genuine lesson that sustained excellence is not just about doing the same thing well for a long time, but also recognising when something needs to change, even when old methods have served you handsomely.
The problem begins when we expect every sporting moment to yield a profound insight. A batter gets out for a duck, and it becomes a lesson in dealing with failure. A footballer misses a penalty, and it becomes a lesson in the importance of accepting vulnerability.
Had LinkedIn existed in 1983, when Kapil Dev ran backwards to catch Viv Richards in the World Cup final, it would have demonstrated that sometimes leaders must move backwards to take their organisations forward.
But sport also contains an inconvenient element of luck that management literature tends to underplay.
A captain’s inspired bowling change may owe something to a batter playing a dreadful shot. A winning goal might come from a deflection.
Not every victory proves superior leadership, just as not every defeat reveals a failure of planning.
If a century teaches us the value of preparation, what does a first-ball duck teach us? That preparation is overrated?
Sporting parables allow us to borrow a little of the glamour of athletic achievement and bring it into our daily, mundane existence.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
If Abhishek’s innings inspires someone to approach work with greater confidence, good for them. If Kohli’s discipline encourages someone to exercise regularly, even better.
But I only hope that we occasionally allow athletes the luxury of performing without the responsibility of improving the rest of us.
Sometimes a six is simply a six, and a catch is a catch. At times, a captain changes his bowler because the poor fellow is just exhausted.
Perhaps the greatest lesson sport can offer us is that not everything needs to be a teachable moment.
Now, I might put that on LinkedIn.
Published on Nov 14, 2026
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