Banned: A Social Media Trial Editorial

Clinching Evidence – WhatsApp chats between two almost-friends

May 3, 2024
Boria Majumdar
WhatsApp chats between two almost-friends

The Cricketer had alleged I had been intimidating him for years. See clinching evidence below, and make up your mind.

In 2018, the Cricketer had sat out more games than he had played that year. A far more important news story was the assertion that his rehab at the NCA had not been as it should. There were many reports saying so, and anyone who covered Indian cricket at the time would testify that this was the perception that had gained ground.

A couple of weeks before such reports was published, I had reached out to The Cricketer, offering support in any way needed. We also exchanged a few messages.

The WhatsApp conversation, from which I have quoted below exactly as it happened, is self-explanatory.

Wed, 18 Jul Boria ******** do you need any help

Boria Just know I am a call away

Boria Feel free to call anytime

Boria Whatever support I can give I will for you

Boria Please note this is when friends come to the fore

Boria And I will be with you more in bad than in good.

The Cricketer Ok I will let you know if I need anything.

Boria Just a call away

The Cricketer Thumbs up.

Fri, 20 Jul

 

Boria How bad is it (the shoulder)

The Cricketer Operation korate hobe (I will have to get it operated upon)

(It should be noted here that I was aware of the surgery two weeks before it happened. If I wanted to, I could easily have done a news story.)

Boria Bloody F

Boria How long will the recovery time be?

The Cricketer Seta doc bolte parbe (That the doctors can say)

Boria Will you be ready for Australia? When is the operation and where? Holo ki kore (How did it happen)?

The Cricketer If fit before that then surely

The Cricketer In next 7/10 days in UK

Boria I am going on August 5

Boria Let me know where you will be And if you need anything

The Cricketer Ok will let you know.

Boria Holo ki kore (How did it happen)

The Cricketer …series theke ferar por thn ipl e dive (After the series, after I returned…then I dived during the IPL)

Boria So operation is a must?

The Cricketer Day by day kharap hochhe operate na korale (It is going from bad to worse by the day if I don’t get it operated upon)

Boria Kore nao (Get it done )

Boria India needs you. And imp for your career also.

The Cricketer (The folded hands emoji)

Boria Don’t let others take the spot. I am with you always.

The Cricketer T hanks. (And a smiley)

The conversation above was clearly a conversation between two people well known to each other. The Cricketer wrote to me again the same day, and I gauged a request to write about his situation without naming him.

The Cricketer Ami bolechi erom likho na (Don’t write that I told you)

The Cricketer Jante perecho seta likho (That you have come to know, write that)

The Cricketer Karon ja hochhe dekchi (Because of what all I am seeing happening around me)

Boria Exactly

Boria I will just state the facts

The Cricketer Ok

 

While there were more messages exchanged between 2018 and 2021, the only noteworthy aspect of those chats is that we were two fellows who trusted each other. Why else would The Cricketer message me, ‘Don’t write that I told you. That you have come to know, write that.’ If I had been persistently bullying or pressuring him, as was claimed by him before the committee, would this exchange have taken place?

He was out of the team at the time, and far from headline material. If I’m being cynical, from a news standpoint, I had nothing to gain by talking to him. I exchanged a few messages with a cricketer who had almost become a friend, and who I imagined needed some positive reinforcement because things had not gone according to plan. To then get to know that he had said what he did in front of the committee was a shock.

Does the exchange I have detailed suggest any aggression on my part? Is there a hint of a threat?

The jury is out.