'Indian players were not showing respect and their captain...': Bangladesh skipper Sultana on Harmanpreet's flare-up

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana criticised Harmanpreet Kaur's flare-up after the third ODI. Sultana felt the Indian team didn't show respect.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s flare-up in the third ODI against Bangladesh made a lot of waves, as the Indian skipper’s actions and comments gained her intense criticism from all circles of cricket. Her blow-up after being dismissed saw her smash the stumps with her bat, before making sly digs towards the umpires and the Bangladesh team. She also received a two-match suspension and demerit points from the ICC.

Nigar Sultana criticised Harmanpreet Kaur. (PTI)

Following the outburst, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana spoke about how she and her team didn’t appreciate the behaviour shown by the opposing captain. This was a big result for Bangladesh, who remarkably fought back to tie the final ODI and leave the series level at 1-1, a credit to their level of cricket throughout the series.

Sultana was critical of Kaur, claiming that the Bangladesh team deserved greater credit from their opposition, rather than becoming a sideshow for Kaur’s temper and argument against the umpires. This included the trophy presentation, in which Kaur told Sultana to call the umpires to pose with the trophy, since they had earned Bangladesh the positive result in the series.

Having spoken in the press conference about how she didn’t appreciate that attitude from an otherwise highly-respected cricketer on the international stage, Sultana opened up about it once again in an interview with the Daily Star.

“We expected appreciation from them and some words of encouragement which would have motivated our players. But what they did certainly does not leave a good message,” said the captain. “The two teams were standing for the photo session and there was no point saying such a thing in front of the players as they could complain to the match referee according to the rules.”

“Obviously, it felt bad when they were not showing respect. So, I felt there was no point in standing there as I respect my teammates and I can't accept that,” said Sultana, the wicketkeeper who has captained Bangladesh since 2021.

India looked set to wrap up a comfortable series victory in Mirpur, but Bangladesh managed to take the last 6 wickets in India’s innings extremely cheaply, with the final wicket coming with scores tied. A remarkable showcase for Bangladeshi women’s cricket was overshadowed by Kaur’s reactions grabbing the headlines.

“Cricket is a game of discipline and most importantly, whatever we do inspires others. So, we won't do anything that gives a bad message to the others who look up to us. As for the captain of India, whatever happened during the game -- whether it was losing temper or showing frustration -- was normal but it was not right to carry that even after the game.”

“We could have lost the game but in the end, we played better cricket and tied the match,” concluded Sultana. Harmanpreet’s suspension will see her miss the start of India’s Asian Games campaign, which the team enters as favourites. They will be led by Smriti Mandhana in her stead.