How Fair Was Harmampreet Kaur’s Rant Towards Umpires After 3rd ODI vs Bangladesh?

How Fair Was Harmampreet Kaur's Rant Towards Umpires After 3rd ODI

BANGLADESH pulled off a remarkable comeback as the ODI series decider against India Women ended as a tie. India were cruising to the target of 226, at 160-3, before Bangladesh women made a roaring return and bowled out India for 225.

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was furious over a few controversial decisions by the umpires during the match, including her LBW call. Harman was disgusted after being given out LBW and smashed the stumps with her bat in frustration.

Later in the post-match presentation, Harmanpreet Kaur didn't mince words and slammed the umpires for their decisions. As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, Harman even wanted the umpires to join the Bangladesh team for photographs, implying that they were part of the home team.

“A lot of learning from this game, even apart from cricket. The type of umpiring that was happening there, we were very surprised. Next time, when we will come to Bangladesh, we will make sure we have to deal with such umpiring and accordingly, will prepare ourselves,” said Harmanpreet during the presentation.

Bangladesh Captain Nigar Sultana Hits Back At Harmanpreet Kaur

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana hit back at Harmanpreet Kaur for her behaviour and said that the India captain should have shown better manners.

"It is totally her (Harmanpreet's) problem. I have nothing to do with it," Nigar said in the press conference. "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 Bangladesh captain also backed the umpires and said that they are professional individuals and gave the decisions they felt were right. Sultana also took a swipe at Harman and said that she should not cry about poor calls as seven wickets to fall were either caught or run out.

"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]?"

How Fair Was Harmanpreet Kaur's Outrage At Umpires?

Cricket is a gentlemen's game where the umpire's decision is supreme. The umpires are humans and are bound to make errors. This is not something that is new to the game and the players are well aware of this. There have been instances in the past where batters have been given out unfairly, at times very close to a big landmark, and bowlers have been denied certain wickets.

To minimize the umpiring errors, DRS has been put in place but the technology too has its fair share of glitches. What Harmanpreet did was against the spirit of the game which is of utmost importance for the players and fans. Look at Kane Williamson, his team was denied a World Cup after a bizarre boundary count rule but he took the blow with a smile on his face. Harmanpreet should think about her behaviour in the final ODI as no player is bigger than the game itself and its integrity.

(The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent)