The Indian captain vented out her frustration against the umpires with a word to her counterpart Nigar Sultana even prior to the combined photograph after the tird 3rd ODI.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s brash remarks aimed at Bangladeshi players just prior to a combined photograph with both sets of players for the tied third ODI in Mirpur on Sunday (July 23) stood revealed in a report issued by ESPNcricinfo.
Indian captain told her Bangladeshi counterparts, including skipper Nigar Sultana, “bring the umpires too” for the click, indirectly insisting they were part of their side and showed all the bias in their decision-making.
This was after Harmanpreet had openly called the umpiring “pathetic” at the post-match presentation ceremony, having earlier belted the stumps with her bat and given the umpire a death stare after being given out LBW during the run-chase.
Fuming over the umpiring calls throughout the match and the series from the Bangladesh-based standing officials, Harmanpreet Kaur took her outrage to the combined photograph session. She directly called on her counterpart Nigar to ask the umpires to join them in the photograph since she feels they were part of the opposition camp.
ESPNcricinfo reported, “when the end-of-series photograph with both sets of players was being taken, Harmanpreet shouted ‘bring the umpires too’, suggesting they were a part of the Bangladesh team.”
While she quietly went through the photo session, Nigar didn’t hold back on Harmanpreet’s remarks at the post-match press conference, stating the Indian captain “could have shown better manners”.
Watch: Harmanpreet Kaur’s brutal dig at umpires after tied Bangladesh game
“It is totally her problem. I have nothing to do with it,” Nigar said. “As a player, she could have shown better manners. I can’t tell you what happened, but it didn’t feel right to be there [for the photograph] with my team. It wasn’t the right environment. That’s why we went back. Cricket is a game of discipline and respect.”
“The umpires wouldn’t give her out if she wasn’t out. We had umpires from men’s international cricket, so they were good umpires. What are they [India] going to say about the caught or run-out dismissals [of which there were six excluding the Harmanpreet and Meghna wickets]?”
“We have respected their decisions. The umpire’s decision is the final decision, whether I like it or not. Why didn’t we behave in that way [like the India players]?”
