Highlights:
- Harmanpreet Kaur criticized umpires for controversial decisions during India vs. Bangladesh ODI series finale.
- Bangladesh captain, Nigar Sultana, was offended by Harmanpreet’s request and left the photo shoot with her team.
- Smriti Mandhana, India’s vice-captain, made it clear that no comments were made during the match towards Bangladeshi players.
During the India vs. Bangladesh women’s ODI series finale, tensions soared as Harmanpreet Kaur openly voiced her criticism against the umpires for their contentious decisions during India’s runs chase. Her dismissal in the 34th over, following Nahida Akter’s catch, sparked a heated debate over whether the ball had struck the bat or the pads.
Harmanpreet was clearly upset by the umpire’s decision to rule her out, and as a result, she reacted aggressively by hitting the stumps with the bat. She gave a crowd of supporters a thumbs up even as she was leaving the pitch.
She didn’t hold back as she voiced her dissatisfaction with the umpiring calls made during the series in the post-match conference. She said they’ll be better prepared to face any controversial calls made by the umpires on their next visit of Bangladesh.
She said, “A lot of learning from this game. Even apart from the cricket, the type of umpiring that was happening there, we were very surprised. The next time whenever we are coming to Bangladesh, we’ll have to make sure we have to deal with this kind of umpiring and accordingly, we’ll have to prepare ourselves.”
According to ESPNcricinfo, there was yet another odd incident. Harmanpreet Kaur requested that Nigar Sultana, the captain of Bangladesh, bring the umpires along with them for the trophy-sharing photo shoot, giving the impression that they were a member of the home side.
Watch the Video:
Bangladesh-W captain & her team left the photo session after Indian-W captain Harmanpreet Kaur told them,
— SazzaDul Islam (@iam_sazzad) July 23, 2023
-“Why you are only here? You haven't tied the match. The umpires did it for you. Call them up! We better have photo with them as well.”
BCB to notify BCCI & ICC soon. pic.twitter.com/PnyEQxoYuC
However, the Bangladesh captain was offended by this comment and abruptly departed the photo shoot, being followed off the pitch by other players. Later, she reacted against Harmanpreet’s behaviour after the match.
Nigar Sultana said, “It is totally her problem. I have nothing to do with it. As a player, she could have shown better manners. I can’t tell you what happened, but it didn’t feel right to be there [for the photograph] with my team. It wasn’t the right environment. That’s why we went back. Cricket is a game of discipline and respect.”
During the post-game press conference, even India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was quizzed about that particular event. Mandhana agreed that Harmanpreet did say a few words against the umpires, but that no remarks were made in reference to the Bangladesh captain or the players.
“I don’t believe she made any remarks about the captain of Bangladesh. From whatever I heard, think talked a bit about umpiring. I don’t think she said anything about them (the Bangladesh players). “
Mandhana further said, “We should not talk about things which did not happen during the match. In the post-match things were not on camera, that is something which happened after the post-match presentation, so let’s not talk about it.”
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