Former India captain says Harmanpreet 'crossed limits', urges BCCI to take 'strict action'

Harmanpreet Kaur's comments and actions during and after the thrilling third ODI between India and Bangladesh has been almost universally panned by former cricketers and commentators. The match ended in a rare tie, leading to the two teams having to share the series trophy. 

Harmanpreet was left visibly dismayed with the umpire's decision that resulted in her dismissal during the Indian chase, although she did not clarify in her contentious post-match presentation ceremony comments exactly what calls it is that she didn't agree with.

After the ceremony, Harmanpreet could be gesticulating as she and Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana stood with the trophy. She could be seen continuing to talk as the two teams stood together with the trophy, which led to Sultana eventually leading her team off from the joint photograph.

Harmanpreet's actions drew sharp criticism from the Indian and Bangladesh camps and the latest to lay into the Indian captain is pioneering former women's skipper Diana Edulji. Eduji said that she was "very disturbed by the visuals" from the game.

"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," said Edulji in her column for the Indian Express.

"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," Edulji, who played 20 Test matches and 34 ODIs between 1976 and 1993, further said.

Edulji said that while Harmanpreet's conduct could be explained by the fact that she was not happy with the result, to suggest that the umpires were working with the opposition team was not acceptable. "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.