Harmanpreet Kaur has landed herself in trouble after expressing dissent against umpiring decision.
The match witnessed a number of contentious umpiring decisions and the Women in Blue were at the receiving end of those calls.
During the game, Harmanpreet lost her cool and hit the stumps with her bat after being given out LBW. While walking back to the pavilion, she gestured towards the umpire that there was a bat involved and also slammed the officials for ‘pathetic’ decision making in the post-match presentation.
While the ICC is yet to take disciplinary action against Harmanpreet Kaur, a report published in ESPNcricinfo claims that the former is likely to be penalised four demerit points for her conduct.
According to the report, match referee Akhtar Ahmad recommended three demerit points for equipment damage and one demerit point for criticising the match officials in public. The ICC will take the final call and it is learnt that the BCCI has been talking to the apex body regarding the matter.
As per the ICC's regulations, when a player accumulates four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points and a player is banned. Two suspension points result in a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, depending on the schedule of a concerned player.
In case, the parent body decides to ban Harmanpreet, she will miss out on two matches during the white-ball series against South Africa featuring three ODIs and T20Is each in September-October this year.
Players breaking the stumps while expressing dissent against the umpiring decisions is a rare episode. In the past, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has done it during a Dhaka Premier League match and he was suspended for three matches and fined US$ 5800 (approximately).
It is worth mentioning here that Harmanpreet Kaur also mocked the Bangladesh team during the joint photograph session after the three-match WODI series ended at 1-1.
In a video doing rounds on social media, the Indian captain can be seen calling the umpires to join in as well, implying them to be part of the Bangladesh team. Offended by the act, Kaur’s Bangladesh counterpart Nigar Sultana instructed her players to walk away from the joint photograph session.
(ESPNcricinfo Inputs)