India women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur reacted first time after receiving a two-match ban for her antics during and after the third ODI against Bangladesh last month. Harmanpreet revealed that she feels no regrets for her 'pathetic umpiring' remark and for her outburst after being given out.
The star Indian batter came under scrutiny after she rooted off stums with a bat after being given lbw out in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka. She argued with an umpire while walking off the pitch and then further stunned the cricket community by calling it 'pathetic umpiring' during the post-match presentation.
Bangladesh managed to defend their total to tie the third ODI and to draw the series against India for the first time. But Harmanpreet's outburst was the talking point among the cricket fans with very few supporting her behaviour.
Her antics brought up a two-game ban sanction from the ICC and a lot of fierce reaction from former cricketers, including the legendary Mithali Raj. Harmanpreet is currently featuring in the Women's The Hundred 2023 tournament for Trent Rockets and was asked about her thoughts regarding her outburst last month. The player herself now defends her outburst by saying she reacted as a player to express her feelings.
"I will not say that I regret anything because at the end of the day as a player you want to see that fair things are happening. As a player, you always have the right to express yourself and what you're feeling," Harmanpreet said during the Women’s Hundred game of Trent Rockets on Sunday, August 20.
Harmanpreet also received three demerit points for showing dissent at the umpire's decision and one more for publicly criticising the officials. But she added that she said nothing wrong and feels no regrets for her actions.
"I don't think I said anything wrong to any player or any person. I just said what happened on the field. I don't regret anything," Harmanpreet added.
