Had Harmanpreet’s actions been limited to match, wouldn’t have felt as bad: Sultana

It has been a while since the ugly scenes involving India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the Bangladeshi team as well as the umpires played out during the thrilling third women’s ODI in Dhaka.

Kaur has since copped plenty of flak for her conduct both during the match as well as after and has since been handed a two-match ban along with a fine of 75 per cent of her match fee by the ICC. She has also come under criticism from Bangladeshi skipper Nigar Sultana Joty, who in a recent interview stated that she felt “sad and disappointed” over a legend of her stature behaving the way she did during the tour finale.

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Joty added that she would not have taken as much offence over Kaur’s actions had they been limited to the match, and not spilled over to the presentation ceremony afterwards.

“Had it been restricted to the field of play, honestly speaking, I would not have felt bad about it or felt disappointed. I would have told my players that it was all in the intensity of the moment, and it is better that all of us moved on from it.

“But what really disappointed me was that it was not restricted to the field of play. Let me tell you something. For my players too, Harmanpreet is a legend of the game. They too look up to her. And when they came and said to me that how can a legend of her stature do this to us, I felt sad and disappointed. That’s what has pained me the most,” Sultana was quoted as telling RevSportz.

Also Read: Roger Binny, VVS Laxman will speak to Harmanpreet, says Jay Shah

Sultana also felt that the umpiring in the series would not have come under as much scrutiny had the Women in Blue won the third ODI and flew back home with both the T20I and ODI series’ in their kitty.

“The moot point is the very same umpires officiated in the T20 series as well. There was not a single complaint from India. Is it because they had won the series?

“Had they won the final ODI, would they have raised the issue of umpiring or was it raised because they did not win the series, and they were disappointed and frustrated with the result?” Sultana added.

Due to the two-match ban from the ICC, Kaur will miss out on the Indian team’s opening game of Asian Games in Hangzhou as well as the subsequent fixture.