Harmanpreet Kaur's hot-tempered actions spark controversy; former India captain reacts

Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of India's women's cricket team, finds herself in the midst of a heated controversy due to her hot-tempered behaviour during a tied ODI match against Bangladesh.

Ovaise Shariff

First Published Jul 25, 2023, 5:39 PM IST | Last Updated Jul 25, 2023, 5:43 PM IST

Harmanpreet Kaur has come under intense scrutiny and severe criticism for her actions during the third ODI against Bangladesh. While players expressing dissatisfaction with umpires' decisions is not uncommon in cricket, Kaur's behaviour crossed several lines during the tied match. From aggressively shattering her stumps to calling the umpires for end-of-series photographs with the team, the Indian skipper's antics sparked widespread discussion in the cricketing world.

Former India captain, Diana Edulji, expressed her disapproval of Harmanpreet's actions in her column for the Indian Express. Edulji attributed Kaur's behaviour, to a certain extent, to her poor form with the bat, but emphasized that her actions were unacceptable, especially considering her role as the Indian captain. Edulji stressed that cricketers reacting to bad umpiring decisions can be pardoned to some extent due to emotions running high in crunch matches. However, she condemned Kaur's post-game behaviour as a bad example for her teammates, as younger players often look up to seniors, and this could impact the team culture negatively.

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"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 too," Edulji wrote

Edulji found Kaur's gesture of calling the umpires for a photoshoot with both Indian and Bangladesh players, suggesting they were part of the host team, 'deplorable.' She asserted that Harmanpreet crossed the limit that day, continuing to protest even during the presentation ceremony. Despite acknowledging Kaur's hot-tempered nature, Edulji emphasised that her conduct was ugly and unwarranted, calling for accountability for her actions.

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