Boria Majumdar and Indian Cricket’s Latest Saga

Journalist Boria Majumdar is likely to face a two-year ban from the BCCI.

Wriddhiman Saha was sent rude messages by Boria Majumdar in February.

Image: Namita Chauhan/The Quint. 

Boria Majumdar, one of the most recognised faces of the cricket media in India, recently ran into a fair amount of trouble, having sent a series of rude and intimidating messages to Indian cricketer Wriddhiman Saha.

The incident kicked off earlier this year on 19 February, when Saha tweeted a screenshot of the WhatsApp messages sent to him by Majumdar. Now, the BCCI have, reportedly, decided to hand Majumdar a two-year ban.

The incident was understandably unpleasant for the Indian cricket fraternity, with many involved with cricket in India airing their opinions on the matter, and most of them taking Saha’s side. As the controversy played out on social media, the BCCI launched a probe to investigate the matter.

Both Saha and Majumdar met BCCI officials in regards to the controversy.

The BCCI formed a three-member panel comprising vice-president Rajeev Shukla, treasurer Arun Dhumal, and apex council member Prabhtej Bhatia to probe Saha's allegations.

Who is Boria Majumdar?

Hailing from the Sourav Ganguly’s home town, Kolkata, Boria Majumdar is a historian and journalist, who has been active in cricket journalism for more than a decade. Well known for having co-authored Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography, Playing It My Way, with the great man himself, Majumdar was often seen moderating panel discussions with the who’s who from the world of cricket.

The journalist, who has written a couple of other books on cricket as well, has also covered the Olympics and is believed to have done a Doctorate of Philosophy on the Social History of Indian Cricket from coveted Oxford University in October 2000.

He was previously associated with the media house India Today, but recently launched his own YouTube platform, RevSportz, where he does match analysis and interviews sports personalities. The journalist is also well known for his close ties with the likes of Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sunil Gavaskar, among many other greats.

However, this is not the first time Majumdar has had a falling-out with a cricketer. In August 2020, Majumdar had an altercation with the Australian women’s team stalwart Alyssa Healy, who was not very pleased with the way the Women’s T20 Challenge was scheduled because the dates clashed with the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia. A heated exchange followed, with Majumdar trying to justify the BCCI’s choice of dates while Healy questioned the clash of dates of the two tournaments.

While that was one episode, a year later, when India was in England for a Test series and the final game at Manchester had to be postponed due to COVID-19 hitting the visitors camp, there was another untoward incident, this time with his India Today colleague Vikrant Gupta. The duo had engaged in a heated war of words on air about who was to blame for the COVID-19 situation in the Indian camp.

Where Does the Matter Stand Now?

According to an Indian Express report, the BCCI has found Boria Majumdar guilty of intimidating Saha over an interview. The board is likely to impose a two-year ban on the talk show host over the same.

The ban will mean that the state units will not allow him inside stadiums. "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," an official told the newspaper.

The BCCI, who reportedly came to the aforementioned decision on 23 April, will also ask the ICC to sanction Boria.

What Has Happened So Far?

The incident had come to light when Saha shared screenshots of a conversation where Boria said, "You did not call. Never again will I interview you. I don’t take insults kindly. And I will remember this."

Saha had tweeted without naming Boria, saying that after all his contributions to cricket, this is what he had to face from a ‘respected’ journalist.

Later, Boria shared a post admitting that he was the journalist who had intimidated Saha. However, he said that the cricketer had doctored and tampered the screenshots and that he would sue him for defamation. He said that he had requested BCCI for a fair hearing.

Soon after the incident grabbed the headlines, the Indian cricket fraternity, including Ravi Shastri put their weight behind Saha, and asked BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly to investigate the matter.