There comes a major setback for India Women’s team ahead of the Asian Games 2023. Their Captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been suspended for two matches for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the third ODI of the Bangladesh series. This means Harmanpreet will not feature in India Women’s initial two fixtures of the Asian Games 2023 due to her suspension.
In a media release on Tuesday, ICC confirmed the development & said that Harmanpreet received three De-merit points for breaching the ICC code which is related to showing dissent over an umpire decision. For the same charges, Harmanpreet was awarded a level 2 sanction of Conduct with a fine of 50% match fee.
Further, she was also charged with a separate Level 1 penalty along with a fine of 25% of her match fee for publicly criticizing match officials as she described Bangladesh ODI Series umpiring as pathetic.
Why did Harmnapreet Kaur got Suspended?
During the 34th over of the game, Harmanpreet tried to attempt a sweep shot off Nida Dar’s delivery but missed it. The ball thumped her front pad & went into the air & landed directly into the hands of the slip fielder. Umpire raised his finger for terming her out. Harmanpreet was not happy with the decision & raised her hands in frustration.
She was of the opinion that the ball has edged her bat & it was not LBW. In frustration, she smashed the stumps with her bat & had a heated argument with the umpire. But the fact was that even if she was not dismissed for LBW, the ball was caught at slips by the fielder. And Harmanpreet didn’t pay attention to the fact that she was given caught out & not LBW.
Later after the match ended in a draw, Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her anger in post-match presentation. She went on to openly criticize the umpiring decision by saying that the umpiring during the IND vs BAN ODI series was pathetic.
“We have gained valuable insights from the game, extending beyond cricket. The level of umpiring we witnessed came as quite a surprise, and it has taught us a lot. When we visit Bangladesh again, we will be better prepared to handle such situations. Certain decisions made by the umpires were truly disheartening and left us feeling disappointed with the overall quality of umpiring,”
said Harmanpreet Kaur.
Harmanpreet’s aggressive behavior & controversial statement against umpiring in public has forced ICC to award her with suspension & penalty.
What do ICC Rules Say?
ICC rules are stringent in terms of such offenses. As per ICC rules, when a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-months period they are converted into suspension points. Anything in the range of four to seven de-merit points results in two suspension points. This means the player awarded the penalty will be banned for one Test, two ODIs, or two T20Is, depending on which comes first in the player’s schedule.
In case of Level 2 breach of conduct, the player is awarded a penalty ranging from 50 to 100 percent of the player’s match fee, and three or four demerit points. While a Level 1 breach involves a minimum penalty of 50 percent of the player’s match fee and one or two demerit points.
ICC stated that the first incident took place when Harmanpreet smashed the stumps in anger when she was caught at slips off Nida Dar’s delivery. And the second incident happened when Harmanpreet openly criticized umpiring decisions using inappropriate words.
“She was found guilty of breaching article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, relating to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”,
the ICC said in a statement.
ICC also stated that Harmanpreet has accepted the offenses & admitted to the sanctions imposed by the World Governing Council so there is no need for a formal hearing.
So in Kaur’s case, the accumulation of four demerit points has converted to two suspension points. This means Kaur will be suspended from either one Test match or two ODIs or two T20Is, whichever comes first for the team. Asian Games will be the India Women’s immediate series after the announcement of Kaur’s suspension. Thus she will have to sit out of the first two T20Is of the Asian Games 2023.
India will begin their Asia Cup 2023 Campaign from September 2023.
India will kickstart their Asian Games Hangzhou in China 2023 between September 23 and October 8. India will be fielding both Men’s & Women’s teams in the marquee event. Notably the matches will be played in T20I format.
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