The BCCI has found sports journalist Boria Majumdar guilty of intimidating Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha over an interview, according to an Indian Express report. The board is likely to impose a two-year ban on the talk show host over the incident.
The state units of the Indian cricket board will not allow the journalist inside stadiums. An official told the newspaper, “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.”
This comes more than two months after Saha tweeted a screenshot of the messages appearing to seek an interview. He had received support from several quarters, with many urging him to reveal the journalist’s identity. “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 tweeted.
“Choose whoever can help the most,” read a message. “You did not call. Never again will I interview you. I don’t take insults kindly. And I will remember this.”
Former coach Ravi Shastri tweeted, “Shocking a player being threatened by a journo. Blatant position abuse. Something that’s happening too frequently with #TeamIndia. Time for the BCCI prez to dive in. Find out who the person is in the interest of every cricketer. This is serious coming from ultimate team man WS.”
Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha, the Indian cricketers’ association representative, tweeted that “we will make sure our cricket community boycotts this so called journalist!”
The Indian Express 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. He accused the cricketer of doctoring the screenshots of the messages.
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