BCCI official questions Harmanpreet in fake degree row amidst Pandya-Rahul controversy

Earlier, in July last year, the graduation degree of Harmanpreet was allegedly found to be fake in a vigilance inquiry conducted by the Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU), Meerut.

A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official has hit out at the board’s double standards and said that Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were suspended for misconduct but Harmanpreet Kaur continues to lead the Indian women’s T20 team despite being involved in a fake degree row.

File image of India women’s cricket Harmanpreet Kaur. (Getty Images)

Earlier, in July last year, the graduation degree of Harmanpreet was allegedly found to be fake in a vigilance inquiry conducted by the Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU), Meerut. The issue came to light when an officer from Punjab Police contacted university authorities for verifying Harmanpreet’s testimonials.

Pandya and Rahul were sent home from Australia pending investigation, after they were caught in the eye of a controversy following their appearance in popular TV show Koffee With Karan. The BCCI official said that if the duo were stopped from playing for the country while an inquiry was going on, Harmanpreet continues to don the blue of India despite being investigated in the fake degree row.

“If Pandya and Rahul have to serve a suspension pending inquiry, then what about Harmanpreet Kaur? She is the captain of the Indian team at a time when she is being investigated for possessing a fake graduation degree. Someone wants to conveniently protect her but ban these two cricketers for a year,“ a BCCI official was quoted as saying by Times of India.

“There is a legal process on, right? Then how is she the captain of the Indian (T20) team. She lost her DSP rank and is still fighting the case. Has the BCCI even tried following up on what happened,” he added.

Earlier, Harmanpreet had defended herself in the fake degree row after losing the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank. The Indian T20 skipper had said that she couldn’t take the post graduation exams due to overseas cricket tours but she did complete her graduation.

“When you did your graduation, did you go to the head office to verify your enrollment number? Nobody does that. I did exactly the same thing. If I am playing, my focus is obviously on cricket. Apart from that, I just wanted to complete my graduation,” Kaur had said last year.

“On the basis of my graduation certificate, I took admission in post graduation course in a different university but could never take my exams because of overseas tournaments. Today, that very degree is being called fake.”