Players expressing dissatisfaction to umpires' decisions on the field isn't a new thing but what Harmanpreet Kaur did in the tied third ODI against Bangladesh crossed a few lines. From the act of shattering her stumps to calling the umpires for end-of-series photographs with the team, the India skipper's antics became a hot topic of discussion in the cricketing spectrum. Even former India captain Diana Edulji slammed Harmanpreet's actions, suggesting it was probably because of her poor form with the bat that Harmanpreet lost her cool in the manner she did.
In her column for Indian Express, Edulji said that Harmanpreet set bad examples for her teammates by acting the way she did.
"Cricketers reacting to a bad umpiring decision, though not ideal, is nothing new. To a certain extent, one can be pardoned since when you get out in a crunch match, sometimes it is difficult to control the emotions. Harmanpreet isn't the first cricketer to show dissent and the ICC rightly imposed sanctions on her. I understand wrong decisions were made. We have seen wrong decisions in the past too, not only in women's cricket but in men's cricket too," Edulji wrote.
"However, what happened post-game was not needed, all the more because Harmanpreet is the Indian captain. She has set a bad example for her teammates. I say that because juniors look up to seniors and this, over a period of time, can impact the team culture. This makes Harmanpreet's behaviour all the more unacceptable," said Edulji, a former cricketer who represented India in 20 Test matches and 34 ODIs.
Edulji branded Harmpreet's gesture to call umpires for a photoshoot with the Indian and Bangladesh players, suggesting they too were part of the host team 'deplorable'. For Edulji, there's no denying that Harmanpreet crossed the limit that day.
"It was deplorable to see Harmanpreet call the umpires to pose with the Bangladesh team, suggesting that they were part of the team and playing for them. I am aware that Harman is hot-tempered, and maybe her ugly conduct was because she wasn't able to score runs. But she crossed the limit that day as she continued to protest during the presentation ceremony," said Edulji.