Cricket journalist Boria Majumdar found guilty, likely to face two-year BCCI ban in Wriddhiman Saha text case

Senior cricket journalist Boria Majumdar will face a two-year ban from covering the matches in India after he was found guilty in the Wriddhiman Saha text case.

BCCI enquiry committee took the decision on Saturday at the meeting, revealed sources in the know of things at the board. 

The BCCI Apex Council was to review the probe committee's report concerning India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who had accused this journalist of intimidating him, at its meeting on April 23.

The BCCI had formed a three-member panel comprising vice-president Rajeev Shukla, treasurer Arun Dhumal and Apex Council member Prabhtej Bhatia to probe Saha's allegation.

Saha had earlier posted a series of tweets on February 23 against an unnamed journalist, accusing him of threatening him over Whatsapp. The said journalist then accused Saha for doctoring the Whatsapp screenshots. It was later disclosed that it was Majumdar. 

"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 was quoted as saying in an Indian Express report.

On February 19, Saha wrote on Twitter while sharing the screenshot of the chat, "After all of my contributions to Indian cricket...this is what I face from a so called "Respected" journalist! This is where the journalism has gone."

After all of my contributions to Indian cricket..this is what I face from a so called “Respected” journalist! This is where the journalism has gone. pic.twitter.com/woVyq1sOZX — Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) February 19, 2022

One of the messages in the chat read as, "You did not call. Never again will I interview you. I don`t take insults kindly. And I will remember this."

The report also said that Saha eventually identified Majumdar as the journalist in question when he came in front of the committee.

Majumdar eventually identified himself through a video on Twitter and claimed that he would take legal action against Saha.

"While deposing before the committee, Saha identified Majumdar and alleged that he was "bullied" for an interview.

Meanwhile, Majumdar accused the cricketer of "doctoring" the screenshots of the WhatsApp messages he had posted on Twitter and later shared with the committee," further said the report.

Saha`s tweet took the cricketing world by storm, with former India opener Virender Sehwag offering his support to Saha and urging him to name Majumdar, who hadn`t been identified till then.

"Extremely sad. Such sense of entitlement, neither is he respected nor a journalist, just chamchagiri. With you Wriddhi," tweeted Sehwag at that time.

With IANS inputs