Did Harmanpreet Kaur Disrespect Bangladesh Captain With Gesture For Umpires? Smriti Mandhana Answers
Harmanpreet Kaur is said to have asked the umpires to join both teams for post-match photograph, suggesting they were too part of the Bangladesh team.
India's 3rd and final women's one-day international against Bangladesh ended in a thrilling tie that also saw Harmanpreet Kaur smashing her stumps after getting dismissed. The India skipper launched and unflinching attack at the match officials, calling for neutral umpires to be assigned. The drama, however, didn't end there. As per reports, Harmanpreet even invited the umpires for a post-match photograph, insulting the Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana, who refused to stay for the photo-ops, in the process. When India's senior batter Smriti Mandhana was asked about the post-match scenes, she rubbished the talks of Harmanpreet insulting her Bangladesh counterpart.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, Harmanpreet shouted "bring the umpires too", suggesting that the officials were also a part of the Bangladesh team. Nigar reportedly took the matter up with the BCB officials and decided to take her players directly to the dressing room.
In the presser, a reporter asked Mandhana about the post-match scenes, highlighting the reported incident where Harmanpreet is said to have called the umpire for end-of-series photograph.
In the press conference, Mandhana defended her captain, saying though a few words were said about the umpire, nothing was uttered against the Bangladesh captain or the team.
"I don't think (she said this). You have stated it. I don't think she said anything towards the Bangladesh captain. From whatever I heard, think talked a bit about umpiring. I don't think she said anything about them (the Bangladesh players).
On being pressed about the rumoured post-match scenes, Mandhana said she can't say much about things that didn't happen on camera or after the presentation ceremony.
"We should not talk about things which did not happen during the match. In the post-match things were not on camera, that is something which happened after the post-match presentation, so let's not talk about it," she asserted.
Harmanpreet, who had shattered her stumps after getting dismissed in the match, is likely to face sanctions from the International Cricket Council over her on-field behaviour.
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