Why is India women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur being trolled?

The friction between an umpire and a cricketer over an on-field decision is something we have seen in the past. Be it Sachin Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag, even the game's legends have expressed their disappointment over decisions, which they thought were incorrect.

However, rarely does a cricketer take it off the field. India Women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur took her dismissal over an so personally that she verbally targeted the umpire and the opposition team even after the match was over.

What happened

The incident occurred during the third and final One Day International (ODI) between India and Bangladesh at the Sher-E-Bangla stadium in Mirpur on July 22, 2023. Harmanpreet Kaur got angry over a dismissal which she thought was flawed.

Kaur was so angry that she also smashed the wickets with her bat before walking back to the dressing room.

If there was bat involved as suggested by Harmanpreet Kaur's gesture then it was caught at slip. Needless smashing of stumps.pic.twitter.com/V4aJKpu8or

— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) July 22, 2023

It wasn’t over yet. In the post-match presentation ceremony, she charged against the umpires for their biased decision. She said, "A lot of learning from this match. We were very surprised with the type of umpiring done. Next time we come to Bangladesh to play, we will have to deal with such kind of umpiring and accordingly, we will prepare ourselves.”

Since the match was tied as India was all-out at 225 while chasing the target of 226, Kaur had to share the trophy with Bangladesh women's captain, Nigar Sultana.

Kaur while holding the trophy with Sulana taunted her by asking to also bring the umpire along. “Why are you only here? You haven’t won the match. The umpires did it for you. Call them up. We better have a photo with them as well,” Kaur said.

“Bring the umpires too.”

“Why you are only here? You haven't tied the match. The umpires did it for you. Call them up! We better have photo with them as well.”

~ Harmanpreet Kaur pic.twitter.com/VRTEiswxRv

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) July 23, 2023

This infuriated the Bangladeshi captain and she took the team back to the dressing room, without further being part of the photo session.

ICC fines Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur’s actions invited the International Cricket Council's (ICC) wrath and the apex body fined Kaur 75% of the match fee.

It has also added three demerit points to her record.

Mixed reactions from cricket fraternity

Madal Lal criticises Kaur: Kaur’s actions not only embittered the Bangladeshi cricket fans but also embarrassed Indian cricketers. Former World Cup-winning cricketer lashed out at Kaur for showing such indecent behavior on foreign soil.

“Harmanpreet’s behavior against the Bangladeshi women's team was pathetic. She is not bigger than the game. She got a very bad name for Indian cricket. BCCI should take very strict disciplinary action,” Madan Lal said.

Harmanpreet’s behaviour against the Bangladesh women’s team was pathetic. She is not bigger than the game. She got a very bad name for Indian cricket. BCCI should take very strict disciplinary action.

— Madan Lal (@MadanLal1983) July 23, 2023

Twitter users troll Kaur: A lot of Indian cricket fans also came out against Kaur's behavior in Bangladesh. Here are some reactions:

1. Ban Harmanpreet Kaur: 

@ICC Should Ban Indian Captain #HarmanpreetKaur For Lifetime. pic.twitter.com/WsujVI88hV

— Bulbul Zilani (@BulbulZilani) July 23, 2023

2. Embarrassing: 

@ImHarmanpreet just killed my love for women’s indian cricket #IndianCricketTeam . embarrassing #HarmanpreetKaur #INDWvBANW

— consumer zero (@realconsumer1) July 24, 2023

3. Step-down Harmanpreet: 

Step down @ImHarmanpreet #HarmanpreetKaur #Stepdownharmanpreetkaur

— Souvik Nath (@I_SouvikNath) July 24, 2023

4. Only a 'Gentlemens' game: 

Some of them are justifying #HarmanpreetKaur . Why not, after all it is only a "Gentlemen's" game.

— Kuptaan 🇮🇳 (@Kuptaan) July 24, 2023

Smrithi Mandhana backs Kaur: However, Kaur got backing from fellow cricketer, Smriti Mandhana, who called for a neutral umpiring system. Mandhana scored a half-century in the match. In a post-match press conference, Mandhana said that there were instances during the match when the umpire raised the fingers even without giving a second thought to the decision.

“I am sure that the ICC, BCB, and BCCI will definitely have a discussion on that. Maybe we have a neutral umpiring system so that we do not sit here having this decision, maybe we can then focus on cricket and cricket-oriented decisions,” she said.