Former captain reacts to Harmanpreet Kaur’s behaviour
Former Indian women’s team captain Anjum Chopra believes that Harmanpreet Kaur will regret her actions once she calms down
The India women tour of Bangladesh was an outright dull affair until visiting captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s outrageous reaction sparked a controversy. The Indian team showcased a disappointing performance against the eastern neighbours, where they won the T20I series 2-1 and drew the ODIs 1-1. The final game in Mirpur tied in Mirpur but the incident thereafter has been garnering stern reactions from the greats of the game.
Harmanpreet’s behaviour became the biggest talking point. After being given LBW, she hit the stumps with her bat and also indulged in a heated argument with the on-field umpire on her way back to the dressing room. Later, she called out the umpiring ‘pathetic’ at the presentation ceremony and even mocked her Bangladeshi counterpart, Nigar Sultana while posing for photographs with the trophy which was shared.
The Indian skipper had to face the consequences of her reaction as she was reportedly fined 75 per cent of her match fees and was handed three demerit points. Former Indian women’s team captain Anjum Chopra believes that Harman will regret her actions once she calms down.
“When the aggression goes away and she becomes calm I’m sure she would look back and agree that she needed to be more careful in showing her disagreement. There’s no harm in voicing your displeasure, but it’s how and when you do it. She should have been more selective with her choice of words too,” Anjum Chopra told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.
Since the Bangladesh tour had no specific broadcasters and the games were aired on the official YouTube channel of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), there was no DRS or snickometer. Thus, the umpire’s decision was the final call.
Anjum Chopra further opined that if certain decisions didn’t go India’s way then that would’ve communicated in a better way.
“There was no snickometer or ball-tracking, so it’s a bit difficult to judge. But if they (the Indian team) felt a few decisions did not go their way, could things have been handled better? Why did it come down to the Indian captain going to the post-match presentation and voicing her displeasure?
“It could have been communicated in a better way. How did the situation scale up to this? The Indian team not playing up to the mark can be a cause of their disappointment but that could have been kept within the dressing room. Going out in public like this (was not proper),” Chopra said.
