BCCI finds Boria Majumdar guilty in Saha case; likely to get 2-year ban

Cricket journalist and historian Boria Majumdar is likely to get a two-year ban after a three-member BCCI committee found him guilty of intimidating former India wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha over an interview request.

“We will be informing all state units of the Indian cricket board to not allow him inside stadiums. He won’t be given media accreditation for home matches and we will also be writing to ICC to blacklist him. Players will be asked not to engage with him,” a top BCCI official said on condition of anonymity, according to The Sunday Express report.

Majumdar, meanwhile, remains incommunicado.

Also read: Wriddhiman Saha claims he was threatened by journalist, shares screenshot

‘Threatened by journalist’

It was on February 19 this year that the incident came to light with Saha tweeting the screenshot of his conversation with the journalist which showed how Majumdar threatened the cricketer to appear in an interview.

The 37-year-old Bengal wicketkeeper shared a Twitter post that said: “After all of my contributions to Indian cricket… this is what I face from a so-called ‘Respected’ journalist! This is where journalism has gone.”

The former India wicketkeeper from Bengal also shared screenshots of the ‘messages’ that he had received. One of them said: “You did not call. Never again will I interview you. I don’t take insults kindly. And I will remember this.”

Wide support

Following the incident, several Indian cricketers came out in public in support of Saha and urged the BCCI to step in. Former India coach Ravi Shastri urged BCCI president Sourav Ganguly “to dive in”.

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag had empathised with his fellow cricketer and wrote that it is extremely sad that a journalist should have such a sense of entitlement, neither is he respected nor a journalist, just chamchagiri. “With you Wriddhi,” said Sehwag.

Majumdar had refuted the allegations, saying that Saha was “doctoring” the screenshots of the WhatsApp messages. He also said that he will take legal action against the cricketer.

Taking cognizance of the social media post, the BCCI formed a committee comprising vice-president Rajeev Shukla, treasurer Arun Dhumal and apex council member Prabhtej Bhatia to probe Saha’s allegation. While deposing before the committee, Saha identified Majumdar and alleged that he was “bullied” for an interview, The Sunday Express reported.

Also read: Not hurt by Wriddhiman’s revelations, says Dravid