Shahid Afridi attacks Harmanpreet Kaur over controversial conduct in Bangladesh
“This is not just India. We've seen these things in the past as well. Although, we don't see this often in women's cricket. This was way too much, it was a big event under ICC. With the punishment, you set an example for the future. You can get aggressive on cricket; controlled aggression is good, but this was a bit too much,” Afridi said.
Last week, controversy erupted in a women's ODI between India and Bangladesh when Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur lost temper over an umpiring decision against her. Attempting a sweep shot against Nadia Akter, Harmanpreet failed to connect the bat and the ball seemingly missed the willow, hitting the batter on her pad. The umpire gave Harmanpreet out following confident appeals from Bangladesh bowlers but the Indian skipper was furious at the decision, proceeding to hit the stumps in protest.
Furthermore, she continued to argue with umpires as she walked back to the pavilion. Harmanpreet's anger didn't subside there; the match eventually ended in a tie with the two teams sharing the trophy after 1-1 scoreline in the three-match series, and the India captain expressed her disappointment at the umpiring standards in the post-match presentation.
She called the umpiring "pathetic," and went to the extent of saying that the Indian team will specifically prepare for the umpiring the next time it tours Bangladesh. It was also reported further that she asked the Bangladesh skipper, Nigar Sultana, to call the umpires in the team pictures as well – a comment that justifiably didn't sit well with Sultana as well as the Bangladesh players.
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Harmanpreet was fined 50 per cent of her match fee for the Level 2 offence, relating to "showing dissent at an umpire's decision," and received three demerit points on her disciplinary record. She was also fined 25 per cent of her match fee for a Level 1 offence relating to "public criticism in relation to an incident occurring in an international match."
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi expressed his disappointment over Harmanpreet's conduct, but insisted that players tend to do such things in the heat of the moment. Afridi, however, stated that such behaviour isn't very common in women's cricket.
"This is not just India. We've seen these things in the past as well. Although, we don't see this often in women's cricket. This was way too much, it was a big event under ICC. With the punishment, you set an example for the future. You can get aggressive on cricket; controlled aggression is good, but this was a bit too much," Afridi told Samaa TV.
The Indian captain accumulated four demerit points that now amount to suspension from two international matches. Currently, there's no series scheduled for the side before the Asian Games in September, which could mean that Harmanpreet might miss the opening two games of the marquee event in Hangzhou.
