Legendary India women’s cricketer and former captain Diana Edulji called Harmanpreet Kaur’s conduct during and after the recent third ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka ‘ugly’ and urged the BCCI to be strict in the action they decide against her.
The 3rd ODI between the two sides ended in a tie and the series was tied as well. However, the mood was sour in the Indian camp as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was visibly dismayed at the umpire’s decision to give her out LBW during the Indian chase.
She was seen smashing the stumps with her bat and gestured towards the official as well while walking to the pavilion.
During the post-match presentation, Harmanpreet Kaur slammed the officiating and called the umpiring ‘pathetic'. She then escalated things when she allegedly asked the organizers to bring the umpires for the post-series photo shoot along with the Bangladeshi team.
This led to Nigar Sultana getting angry and leading her team back to the pavilion, visibly irritated with the Indian captain.
Harmanpreet's actions drew sharp criticism and the latest to share opinions is pioneering former women's skipper Diana Edulji. Edulji said that she was "very disturbed by the visuals" of the game.
“Cricketers reacting to a bad umpiring decision, though not ideal, is nothing new. To a certain extent, one can be pardoned since when you get out in a crunch match, sometimes it is difficult to control the emotions. Harmanpreet isn’t the first cricketer to show dissent and the ICC rightly imposed sanctions on her. I understand wrong decisions were made. We have seen wrong decisions in the past too, not only in women’s cricket but in men’s cricket,” said Edulji in her column for the Indian Express.
“However, what happened post-game was not needed, all the more because Harmanpreet is the Indian captain. She has set a bad example for her teammates. I say that because juniors look up to seniors and this, over some time, can impact the team culture. This makes Harmanpreet’s behavior all the more unacceptable,” Edulji, who played 20 Test matches and 34 ODIs between 1976 and 1993, further said.
Edulji also said that Harmanpreet Kaur suggesting that the umpires were working with the opposition team was not acceptable and was crossing the limits.
“It was deplorable to see Harmanpreet call the umpires to pose with the Bangladesh team, suggesting that they were part of the team and playing for them. I am aware that Harman is hot-tempered, and maybe her ugly conduct was because she wasn’t able to score runs. But she crossed the limit that day as she continued to protest during the presentation ceremony,” said Edulji.
It remains to be seen how Harmanpreet Kaur is reprimanded by the ICC and if BCCI also takes any action against her.
(Indian Express inputs)
