Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana not happy with her counterpart’s behaviour
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana condemned her counterpart’s act after the presentation ceremony. She refused to divulge what prompted her to walk out but did advise Harmanpreet to show ‘better manners’
Harmanpreet Kaur’s Team India shared the 3-match ODI series with Bangladesh after the final game ended in a tie as both teams scored 225 in 50 overs. However, the Indian skipper’s stern reactions over the umpiring, which she termed ‘pathetic’, grabbed everyone’s attention.
Firstly, she hit the stumps with her bat after being given lbw off Nahida Akhtar’s bowling. Harmanpreet was seen having an argument with the on-field umpire on her way back to the dressing room.
After the conclusion of the game when the players of both teams gathered at the podium to share the trophy, Harmanpreet allegedly yelled “bring the umpires too.” Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana didn’t like her counterpart’s behaviour and after speaking about it to the BCB officials, left the photoshoot along with the entire team.
Bangladesh-W captain & her team left the photo session after Indian-W captain Harmanpreet Kaur told them,-“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
– SazzaDul Islam (@iam_sazzad) July 23, 2023
Before the podium incident, Harmanpreet took a brutal dig at the hosts, stating that the next time they when the Indian team tour Bangladesh, it will come prepared for the ‘pathetic umpiring’.
“I think a lot of learning for us from the game. Even apart from the cricket, the kind of umpiring that was happening we were very surprised. The next time we come to Bangladesh we will make sure we have to deal with this type of umpiring and prepare ourselves accordingly,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation.
“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,” she added.
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana condemned her counterpart’s act after the presentation ceremony. She refused to divulge what prompted her to walk out but did advise Harmanpreet to show ‘better manners’.
“It is totally her problem. I have nothing to do with it,” Nigar was quoted as saying during a media interaction.
“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.
“The umpires wouldn’t give her out if she wasn’t out. We had umpires from men’s international cricket, so they were good umpires. What are they [India] going to say about the caught or run-out dismissals [of which there were six excluding the Harmanpreet and Meghna wickets]? We have respected their decisions. The umpire’s decision is the final decision, whether I like it or not. Why didn’t we behave in that way [like the India players]?” she added.
In the aftermath of the incident, Harmanpreet is set to pay a hefty fine – 75 per cent of her match fees. She will also receive four demerit points – three for an on-field incident and one for comments against the umpires.
