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India women’s team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has come out in support of her skipper Harmanpreet Kaur after the thrilling tie in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Smriti was bombarded with questions on Harmanpreet and her behavior during the game and also about her fiery rant against the umpires, however, Smriti did an excellent job of keeping her calm and giving solid replies to all the questions.
For the unversed, during the game, Harmanpreet Kaur lost her cool and smashed the stumps in anger after getting dismissed.
Harmanpreet Kaur Lost Her Cool And Smashed The Stumps
The incident took place on the fourth ball of the 34th over, Harmanpreet Kaur was dismissed by Nahida Akter after getting caught by Fahima Khatun. Harmanpreet tried to play a sweep shot as the ball looked like hitting the gloves before it was caught at the slips. However, the visuals weren’t clear.
Harman was visibly unhappy with the decision of the umpire and as a result, she lost her temper and hit the stumps. She even directed some angry words toward the umpire as she walked back to the pavilion. On her way back, she also showed a thumbs-up to the celebrating crowd.
Later, after the game, Harmanpreet Kaur ranted about the umpiring standards and expressed her disappointment over some decisions taken by the umpire. She said:
“They (Bangladesh) batted really well, batted according to the situation. They were taking those singles which were very crucial. In between, we leaked a few runs but we controlled the game very well when we were batting, but as I mentioned earlier, some pathetic umpiring was done.”
“We are really disappointed about some decisions given by the umpires,”
An angle of Harmanpreet Kaur hitting the stumps with her bat in absolute disgust!
Whatever the decision is, how is this acceptable on cricket field? What message is this giving to young boys and girls watching this sport? Deserves a ban. Ridiculous!pic.twitter.com/YoRXpJ3Nx5
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 22, 2023
Smriti Mandhana Came Out In Support Of Her Captain
Meanwhile, the incident didn’t go down well with the Bangladeshi media as they bombarded Smriti Mandhana with questions. While Smriti agreed that it was perhaps not the best thing to do keeping the spirit of the game in mind but she also added that Harmanpreet’s act was done in the “heat of the moment”. She said:
“Both teams played a very good brand of cricket. What happened in the middle is part and parcel of the game. We’ve seen these incidents so much when we see men’s cricket so I’m sure you know something like this happening in women’s cricket (is not unusual). When you want to play for India, you always want to win and in the heat of the moment, she wasn’t really happy with the decision given. She was given out, she felt she wasn’t so that is why that reaction came out.”
She added: “Knowing Harman as a person, knowing how much she wants to win (it can happen) but from the spirit of the game, I wouldn’t say it is acceptable. But when you really want to win for India, these things happen,”
The Bangladeshi media also accused Harmanpreet Kaur of disrespecting the Bangladeshi captain Nigar Sultana Joty before posing for the group photographs.
There were reports that before posing for the team photo after the game, Harmanpreet asked the organizers to call the umpires for the photo as they were the reasons for the shared trophy. However, Mandhana rubbished all the reports and clarified that Harmanpreet did not say anything to the Bangladesh captain. She said:
“I don’t think (she said this). You have stated it. I don’t think she said anything to the Bangladesh captain. From whatever I heard, think talked a bit about umpiring. I don’t think she said anything about them (the Bangladesh players).”
She added: “We should not talk about things that did not happen during the match. In the post-match things were not camera, that is something which happened after the post-match presentation, so let’s not talk about it,”
Harmanpreet’s action and her comments are likely to attract sanctions from the ICC. “We are no one to decide on a ban or anything. There’s an ICC panel to decide on those things.”
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