‘As a player you want to see that fair things are happening’ – Harmanpreet Kaur breaks silence on her Dhaka umpiring outburst

India Women’s team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur broke her silence over the outburst she showed against Bangladesh in the third and final ODI match, which stirred massive controversy. For the unversed, Harmanpreet expressed her disappointment at the umpires during the third ODI following her dismissal, as she was seen smashing the stumps.

In addition to this, Harmanpreet publicly criticized the match officials, as she described the umpiring in the series as ‘pathetic’.  In the process, the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended the India skipper for two matches and the Moga-born even received three demerit points for showing dissent towards the umpire’s decision. 

Harmanpreet, who is currently plying her trade for Trent Rockets in the ongoing The Hundred 2023 Women’s competition, expressed that she did not regret her action as players have the 'right to express' their feelings during a match.

"I will not say that I regret anything because at the end of the day as a player you want to see that fair things are happening. As a player you always have the right to express yourself and what you're feeling. I don't think I said anything wrong to any player or any person. I just said what happened on the field. I don't regret anything,” Harmanpreet told ‘The Cricket Paper’.

Harmanpreet Kaur will not play in two fixtures of upcoming Asian Games

Apart from the demerit points, Harmanpreet also received fines of 50 per cent and 25 per cent of her match fee for the two offences. In the process, the skipper will miss the first two fixtures of the forthcoming Asian Games which is slated to begin on September 19, in Hangzhou, China.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) initially announced that Harmanpreet would lead the setup for the Asian Games, whereas Smriti Mandhana will be her deputy for the event. However, considering the two-match ban, Mandhana will shoulder the responsibility of leading the side during Harmanpreet’s two-match ban. Other notable names who are set to feature in the Asian Games are Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, and Richa Ghosh among others.