Picture Credit: Twitter
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has put a ban of two years on senior journalist Boria Majumdar following Apex Council's approval. The committee formed to investigate the matter found Wriddhiman Saha's allegations against Majumdar true and hence has decided to put a ban for two years.
This means that the journalist will not get any accreditation as a member of the press in any of the cricket matches (international or domestic). He will also not be able to get an interview with any registered players of the Indian cricket team. Additionally, he will also not be allowed access to any of BCCI authorities and members' association-owned cricket facilities for two years.
"The BCCI Committee considered the submissions by both Mr. Saha and Mr. Majumdar and concluded that the actions by Mr. Majumdar were indeed in the nature of threat and intimidation," said the BCCI in a statement.
What had happened?
The fiasco started when Indian wicketkeeper batter Wirddhiman Saha shared a couple of screenshots of his WhatsApp chat with a senior journalist (Boria Majumdar). The cricketer had alleged the journalist of intimidating him for not agreeing to an interview. "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," Saha had captioned the tweet.
Many people including Virender Sehwag urged Saha to reveal the name of the journalist but the cricketer said he doesn't intend to harm anyone and end their career. "My nature isnt such that I will harm anyone to the extent of ending someone’s career. So, on grounds of humanity looking at his/her family, I am not exposing the name for the time being. But if any such repetition happens, I will not hold back," had tweeted Saha.
Although Saha did not reveal the name, a lot of talk about action against that journalist by the BCCI happened. Resultantly, the Indian cricket board took cognizance of the matter and formed a committee to investigate the matter. And after almost three months, the board has finally revealed its verdict on the matter.