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Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been in the headlines of late because of her comments on the poor standards of umpiring in the recently-concluded white-ball series against Bangladesh.
The Women in Blue won the T20I series 2-1, while the ODI series finished 1-1 as the third match ended in a tie. Harmanpreet was visibly frustrated when she was adjudged lbw in the final ODI and didn't hold back about the umpiring after the game.
She said:
“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."
While the debate continues about whether Harmanpreet Kaur's reaction after her wicket and also in the presentation ceremony were justified, the Indian skipper has always been blunt in her statements.
On that note, let's take a look at three such instances when Harmanpreet didn't sugarcoat her words.
#3. "Hum logo ne thodi na rope lagaya hai"
Harmanpreet Kaur and Meg Lanning, the captains of the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Capitals respectively, attended a joint press conference ahead of the WPL 2023 final. One of the questions asked to Harmanpreet was about the shorter boundaries that the BCCI had intended to keep, possibly to ensure high-scoting games.
The Mumbai Indians captain didn't seem impressed with the question, and hilariously claimed that the players weren't the ones responsible for deciding the boundary size. She said:
“Hum logo ne thodi na rope lagaya hai. Jinhone rope lagaya hai, aap unko poocho na. (We did not put the boundary ropes in place. You must ask those who did). It is not in our hands, is it? It is in the hands of the officials. You can talk to them.”
#2. "I don’t think it was a mistake by a schoolgirl because we are mature enough"
One of the most heartbreaking moments in Indian cricket last year was the way Harmanpreet Kaur was run out in the T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia. India seemed to be cruising to victory when Harmanpreet was run-out in a pretty unusual manner.
The Indian captain's bat got stuck while dragging it into the crease and when Alyssa Healy took the bails off, replays showed that the batter was short of her ground. Former England captain Nasser Hussain was baffled by Harmanpreet's running as he felt that it was a 'schoolgirl mistake'.
When Harmanpreet Kaur was told about Hussain's comments on her run out, she said:
"I think it was unlucky but I don’t think it was a mistake by a schoolgirl because we are mature enough. We are playing international cricket and whatever he said, that’s his way of thinking. But I don’t think it was like that.”
#1. "I thought you will ask about all ten wickets"
Arguably the most savage moment involving Harmanpreet Kaur in an interview was when India beat England in the third ODI of the series at Lord's back in 2022. Deepti Sharma ran Charlie Dean out at the non-striker's end as the latter seemed to be backing up a bit too much.
Naturally, a 'Spirit of Cricket' debate began and Harmanpreet Kaur was asked about the mode of dismissal in the post-match presentation. The Indian captain backed Deepti as she felt it was completely within the laws of the game and took a sly dig by asking the presenter why there wasn't any discussion about the other wickets. She said:
“To be honest, I thought you will ask about all ten wickets, because they were not easy to take. It's a part of the game. I don't think we have done something new, you can always take those chances."
She added:
"It shows that you are aware about what the batters are doing. I will back my player because I don't think she has done anything that isn't in the ICC rules. Everything is part of the game. At the end of the day, a win is a win and you need to enjoy that."
