India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has come under the scanner for her ugly on-field conduct during the third Women’s ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka last Saturday (July 22).
After being given out LBW, Harmanpreet lost her cool and hit the stumps with her bat. While walking back to the pavilion, she gestured towards the umpire that there was a bat involved and also slammed the match officials in the presentation ceremony.
The Indian captain didn’t stop there as she 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, Harmanpreet can be seen calling the umpires to join in as well, implying them to be part of the Bangladesh team. Offended by the act, Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana asked her players to walk away from the joint photograph session.
Reacting to the incident, former Indian women’s team captain Anjum Chopra said that Kaur will regret her actions once she calms down.
“When the aggression goes away and she becomes calm I’m sure she would look back and agree that she needed to be more careful in showing her disagreement. There’s no harm in voicing your displeasure, but it’s how and when you do it. She should have been more selective with her choice of words too,” Anjum told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat.
The Women in Blue were at receiving end of some debatable calls. Since there was no option for DRS, snickometer or ball-tracking during the Bangladesh tour, the umpire’s decision was the final one.
“There was no snickometer or ball-tracking, so it’s a bit difficult to judge. But if they (the Indian team) felt a few decisions did not go their way, could things have been handled better? Why did it come down to the Indian captain going to the post-match presentation and voicing her displeasure?
“It could have been communicated in a better way. How did the situation scale up to this? The Indian team not playing up to the mark can be a cause of their disappointment but that could have been kept within the dressing room. Going out in public like this (was not proper),” Anjum Chopra remarked.
As of now, the BCCI and ICC are yet to take disciplinary action against Harmanpreet Kaur but reports claim that she is likely to be fined 75 per cent of match fees and handed demerit points.
