A certain individual from the former Indian cricket team recently blamed team Pakistan for not carrying grace while winning a match. Well, looks like one of their own has quite blatantly shown the entire world what a lack of grace looks like. In the recently concluded ODI series between India and Bangladesh, India’s women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur lost her cool and offended the opponent players through her words and actions. She lacked basic decency on and off the ground. Here’s what exactly happened.
India’s women’s team captain angered by Umpire’s decision
The incident happened in the third and final ODI of the three-match series in Bangladesh. Kaur was declared out by the umpire Tanvir Ahmed after the ball edged and was caught in the slips by Fahima Khatun. In a match that had no DRS system, the 34-year-old had no choice but to return to the pavilion. But before she did, she made sure to demonstrate her frustration.
The right-hand batter disabled the stumps, reprimanded the umpire, and made certain gestures towards the crowd before she left the ground. Sadly it did not end here. In the post-match ceremony, the captain went on to call the umpiring pathetic. Later, at the end-of-series photograph India’s women’s team captain was heard saying “Bring the umpires too”. This gesture saw the host team captain Nigar Sultana lead her team to the dressing room without waiting for the session to end.
It is important to mention here that the three-match 50-over series was tied 1-1 after the women in blue lost all wickets at the leveled score in the third game. Hence the trophy was shared between the hosts and the visitors.
“We will bring our own umpires”
Talking to media post-match, the all-rounder took a dig at the umpiring standards of the series and vowed to bring their own in the next one.
“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.”
She lauded the batting performance of their opponents but went on to call the decision-makers pathetic.
“They [Bangladesh] batted really well, batted according to the situation. In between, we leaked a few runs but when we were batting, we controlled the game very well. But, as I mentioned earlier, some pathetic umpiring was done, and we are really disappointed about some decisions given by the umpires.”
Bangladesh captain says it’s not her problem
The 25-year-old when asked about this incident said that nothing of what happened is her problem. The wicket-keeper wished Kaur had shown better manners
“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.”
Indian cricket team and their umpiring woes
It’s not the first time the Indian cricket players have lashed out at umpiring decisions. In the away Test series between India and South Africa in January 2022, Virat Kohli was caught criticizing the broadcaster after an LBW out off Ashwin’s ball was reversed as not out. “Focus on your team as well when they shine the ball, not just the opposition, trying to catch people all the time”, the then captain was heard saying.
In the World Test Championship Final Indian batter Shubman Gill criticized television umpire Richard Kettleborough’s decision of Chris Green’s low-down catch as out.
The batter was fined 15% of his match fee by ICC for breaching the code of conduct.
Heavy penalty for India women’s team captain
India’s star captain who has aggregated 3393 ODI runs and 31 international wickets has been heavily penalized for her offences. Harmanpreet Kaur has received three demerit points for showing dissent at an umpire decision. She also received a 50% fine on her match fee for the same reason. With this, she has become the first female blue-capped player to be handed a Level 2 sanction ever since the ICC started publicly listing code of conduct breaches in 2016.
Along with these, the skipper has been given a separate Level 1 penalty. It includes a 25% fine on her match fee along with one demerit point. Harmanpreet now has four demerit points, one she earned in the 2017 ODI World Cup semi-final against Australia. She had slammed her helmet after a running mix-up with Deepti Sharma nearly cost her her century.
According to the rules of the Cricket Council, demerit points in the range of four to seven equated to suspension i.e. a ban from one Test, two ODIs, or two T20Is, depending on which comes first in the player’s schedule. In this regard, India’s women’s team captain will not lead her team in the first two matches of the Asian Games.
Final words
It’s understandable that things happen in the heat of the moment but one must not use this as an excuse to abuse the match officials and disrespect the opponent. There is a proper way of reporting things and the correct pathway should always be adopted no matter how much the angering the situation is.
Oh, and while the Indian cricketers lecture us on grace, why not share a lesson or two with their own kind.
