'She was taking long strikes and undue advantage' - Harmanpreet Kaur on Charlie Dean's controversial run-out

Despite being legal, Charlie Dean's dismissal has continued to alienate cricket players and supporters. The debate between what’s right and what’s wrong has been going on for almost a week now, and despite the MCC declaring Dean’s run-out at the non-striker end fair, there are still many who are criticizing Deepti Sharma for the move.

The third and final ODI, on September 24, at Lord’s ended with India defeating the hosts in a historic series whitewash, winning it 3-0. Dean was left in tears when she lost her wicket because her side was very close to a win, and India needed just one wicket to seal the deal. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who had backed Sharma after the game against India, reaffirmed that her side adhered to the rules completely.

Whatever we did was very much in the rules: Kaur

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue are all set to begin their Asia Cup 2022 campaign on October 1 in Bangladesh by taking on Sri Lanka in their first game on an opening day. While speaking to the media ahead of the first encounter, Kaur spoke about the Deepti Sharma-Charlie Dean row and said:

“We were noting these things from last couple of games. She was taking long strikes and undue advantage, it was Deepti’s awareness. It was not part of the plan but everyone was there to win the game. Whenever you are on the ground, you want to win at any cost. The most important thing is to play within the rules. Whatever we did was very much in the rules. Whatever happened, it was not part of the plan but it has happened, we need to move on,” said Kaur.

The Indian side, while touring England, lost the T20I series by 2-1, but bounced back stronger to win the ODI series 3-0. Backed with a huge victory, the team will now march into the Asia Cup as the tournament marks its return after four years. A total of seven teams are set to participate in the continental event, including India.