Journalist Boria Majumdar handed two-year ban by BCCI
The BCCI has banned cricket journalist Boria Majumdar for two years after the board found him guilty of intimidating senior Indian cricketer Wriddhiman Saha. Majumdar had allegedly thrown harsh words at Saha after being denied an interview by the cricketer. Notably, the BCCI had formed a three-member committee to investigate the case. Here's more.
BCCI official had informed about the development last month
Last month, a BCCI official told The Sunday Express, "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."
BCCI agrees with he charges brought by Saha
As per The Indian Express, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, treasurer Arun Dhumal, and councillor Prabhtej Singh Bhatia agreed with the charges brought by the Indian wicket-keeper against Majumdar. The trio recommended to the BCCI Apex Committee that for two years, the journalist will be banned.
Majumdar had slammed Saha earlier
Majumdar had earlier accused senior cricketer Wriddhiman Saha of "doctoring and tampering" screenshots of their messages. In a video released by the former on social media, Majumdar clarified the chat that Saha had put out was a doctored version of a conversation between the two. Majumdar said he would serve Saha a "defamation notice". Notably, Saha had not named the journalist publicly.
Saha had shared this on Twitter!
How did the incident unfold?
In an apparent violation of journalistic ethics, a reporter had threatened Saha for not returning their calls for an exclusive interview, in February, 2022. Saha made headlines after getting dropped from India's squad for their Test series against Sri Lanka. He had shared a screen grab of a WhatsApp conversation with a journalist, now confirmed to be Boria Majumdar, on Twitter.
Here's the description of Majumdar's ban
As per The Indian Express, Majumdar has been banned from getting accreditation as a member of the press in any match (domestic or international) in India. He has also been banned from getting any interviews with registered players in India. Lastly, he has also been banned from access to any of BCCI or member association-owned cricket facilities.
Saha has represented India in 40 Tests
Wriddhiman Saha has represented India in 40 Tests, having scored 1,353 runs. As a wicket-keeper, Saha has registered 92 catches and 12 stumpings. In February, he informed that head coach Rahul Dravid shed light on the roadmap for Saha. Dravid told Saha that the team will be moving on from him. Saha was also demoted to Group C of the BCCI central contracts list.
Saha is currently playing in IPL
Saha is currently representing Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. He has played five games so far, amassing scores of 11, 25, 68, 29, and 21 respectively. GT are at top of the IPL standings.
