India women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur had landed in hot waters in the media and with the ICC for her outburst over alleged ‘biased umpiring’ in the third One-Day International (ODI) against Bangladesh in Dhaka last month.
The batter was suspended by the ICC for a couple of matches and was also slapped with a 75 per cent fine on her match fee.
About a month after the debacle, in her first statement about the issue, Harmanpreet said that she had no regrets about her actions.
“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 this to The Cricket Paper, a UK-based cricket weekly.
“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,” she added.
On 22 July, Harmanpreet first smashed the wickets with her bat after being given out, then proceeded to shout at the umpire and even at the crowd.
The match ended as a tie and the three-match series also ended 1-1.
In the post-match presentation ceremony she told Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana while posing for photos with the trophy that she should bring the umpire as well as it was the umpires that made sure the match was a tie.
Former Indian cricketers Madan Lal, Diana Edulji and Anjum Chopra criticized Harmanpreet for her outburst. Edulji called Harmanpreet’s action ‘deplorable’ while Madan urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take action against Harmanpreet.