Indian women cricket team's captain Harmanpeet Kaur did not mince her words as she called umpiring in third and final ODI “pathetic”. Harmanpreet showed dissent when she was given out lbw despite hitting the ball with bat. She even hit the stumps in anger as the Bangladeshi umpire raised his finger. However, it was her alleged post-match presentation ceremony behaviour that irked the Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana and the media.
As the match ended in a tie Harmanpreet made a bold statement that she would have to think about touring Bangladesh the next time. This was the first time Bangladesh were able to level an ODI series against India and while posing for photo she allegedly said, “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.”
Bangladesh daily Dainik Ittefaq quoted BCB director Shafiul Alam Chowdhury as saying, “The way Harmanpreet spoke was uncalled for and it will be taken up between the two boards. We will give a report and talk to BCCI and ICC.”
“Cricket is a gentleman’s game. Before becoming a good player, you must be a decent human being and a good sportsperson. Then we will talk… ”
Other Bangladesh media outlets also questioned Harmanpreet’s choice of words as they considered it against the spirit of the game. Sultana was clearly unhappy in the video being circulated and it was clear in the post-match press conference as well.
"It's what she did and we have nothing to do about it. But as a player, she should have spoken with a bit of manners. It's completely her matter and I would not want to make any comments on her. There were some talks which I cannot disclose. But I felt the environment was not right and so we left the place. Cricket is a respectful sport and is a gentlemen's game,” the Bangladesh skipper said.
Meanwhile, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana batted for neutral umpires going ahead and defended her captain’s actions.
"We expect a little better level — I would term it in a better way that, better level of umpiring in terms of some decisions, because it was very evident in some decisions, there was not even a second thought given if the ball hit the pad. Not even one-second thought was given and the finger went up,” Mandhana said.
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